Steven Universe: Shattered II - Gaia
by RealDone Universe
Summary: [AU] Steven and the Gems try to find a warp pad back to Home World after White Diamond destroyed Beach City months ago. Ending up in Ooo, they discover a town with mystical ties to earth's origin and cross paths with Jasper and Lapis, learning the truth behind Rose's disappearance, Sapphire's secret past and what Home World wants with the earth in the first place.
1. Oval Town

**OVAL TOWN**

JAKE HUMMED to himself as he flipped over a pancake on the stove in the RV's small kitchen, moving over and dishing it on a plate nearby. Groaning, Pearl walked past the dog and moved through the vehicle, bypassing Steven and Connie who watched a movie on a laptop and Amethyst who sat looking out the window opposite them, past Sapphire who read a book beside Ruby who was listening to music, and went up to Finn who was at the wheel while Wendy Corduroy dozed off in the passenger seat.

"Man, it's really getting cramped in here." Pearl said as she looked out the window. "Any idea how far we are from the island, Mertens?"

"I don't think we're that far away." Finn said, looking at the rear view mirror showing the ice trail that they were driving on. "I gotta say, you Crystal Gem dudes are pretty cool," He turned to Sapphire. "I've never seen or heard of anybody with this kind of ice power before."

"What about the Ice King?" Jake asked, sitting down and eating his seven staked pile of pancakes.

"We've never met him, so who knows." Finn shrugged.

"Well, I don't think my feats are that impressive." Sapphire said.

"I hope the warp pad here actually works." Steven crossed his arms.

"Yeah, all the ones we've found so far either didn't go to Home World or duds." Connie stated.

"Don't worry, I betcha this'll be the one you guys are after." Jake swallowed all the pancakes. "Hey, why won't ya tell us where you're going? Is it somewhere dangerous or something?"

"Yes, we don't want you to get hurt in the process." Sapphire shut her book.

"But we've been through a lotta tough battles before; I bet we could handle it." Jake flexed up, inflating his muscles.

"We already told you this before Jake; we're not taking you along." Pearl frowned.

"Fine." Jake sunk back in his seat.

"Hey, I see the island up ahead!" Finn called.

"Wait, we've arrived already?" Wendy opened her eyes lazily and looked out the window, a grin spreading on her face. "Sweet! Can finally get outta this damn RV." She got up and left her seat.

Moving past the auburn-haired girl, Pearl came up to the cockpit and looked out the window, seeing a large mountainous island coming into view. "Alright, let's prepare to dock and get this search started!"

"You got it, boss!" Finn saluted and stepped on it.

* * *

FINN DROVE the car wash RV off the large sheet of ice and came to a hard stop on the shore of the island - the frost behind them dissipating and melting into the ocean. Disembarking the vehicle, Pearl, Sapphire, Steven, Connie, Amethyst, Ruby, Wendy, Finn and Jake stepped onto the white sand and looked into the forest up ahead, seeing nothing through the thick wood. Finn drew out a Lacrima from his pocket and looked at a holo-projected map of Ooo, moving past Pearl who summoned a magical barrier around the van.

"Okay, the map says there should be a small town here, so maybe the locals might have a clue of what you're looking for." Finn told Pearl and Sapphire.

"Alright, we'll be on our way then." Sapphire said, looking at the map and taking a mental image of it.

"Guess this's where we part ways then." Jake creaked his neck. "Four days sleeping in a van sure does give a dog cramps."

"Thanks for helping us get this far; we'd be lost without you two." Sapphire said.

"Well, we won't be gone for too long." Finn put on his bag and walked on. "We'll be waiting back at the Candy Kingdom after you finish your business in space."

"And maybe I'll kick that purple bitch's ass in a beer drinking contest next time!" Wendy playfully sneered at Amethyst.

"Ha! You wish, Corduroy!" Amethyst cackled.

"Don't die on us, alright!" Jake waved.

"You too!" Pearl chuckled.

"Bye, Wendy, Finn and Jake!" Connie waved back happily.

"Yeah, see ya." Steven said, a little unenthusiastically, worrying Connie.

Seeing, Finn and Wendy hop onto Jake who turned into a wolf and disappeared into the forest, Sapphire, Pearl and the others went off on their own path. "Man, I wonder why I haven't been turning into any weird stuff lately." Amethyst crossed her arms. "Can't believe a dog of all things is better at shape-shifting than me."

"Well, shape-shifting is only useful for certain situations in combat; it's not a toy for you to play with." Pearl lectured.

"Well, I should use it more." Amethyst tried to think, growing a long tail out of her lower back. "Hmm, that should do for now." She looked at the appendage and wriggled it a little. "Bet a guy in town's into a little freaky shit - maybe he'll spank me like the last guy." She purred with a deep blush.

"Amethyst, there are children present!" Pearl glared at her.

"Yeah, and they already know I fuck guys a lot." Amethyst shrugged. "Your point?"

" And we are teenagers not children, thank you!" Connie interjected.

Pearl growled and walked up to Sapphire and Ruby who were a few paces ahead. "That woman's infuriating!"

"You understand the reason I stand out of earshot now, don't you." Sapphire said plainly.

"It's weird you haven't gotten used to Amethyst's behavior yet." Ruby pocketed her hands.

"Well, I'm not a sexual deviant, alright?" Pearl huffed and turned to Sapphire. "How far are we now?"

"Just a few more meters." Sapphire said.

Behind the three, Connie walked beside Steven and took in the beautiful plants and trees around them, turning to the boy beside her and seeing him set his eyes to the ground. "You okay, Steven?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure? You've been a little quiet lately; didn't even come fishing with me, Jake and Amethyst on the roof yesterday." Connie pried on.

"I'm fine, just a little tired is all." Steven insisted, not convincing her.

Pushing large leaves aside, Sapphire looked out into an opening before her and turned the others. "We're here!"

Rushing up to the Crystal Gems, Connie looked out into the valley and smiled. "Whoa!"

Resting at the foot of a mountain was a small town which stood around a massive yellow oval made of pure energy and was encircled by a large river which went around the mountain range and into the forest that continued behind it. Excited, the girl slid down the small slope and rushed toward the town, followed by Steven who moved at a much slower pace.

"Hey, don't just rush in like that; we don't know if this place is haunted or something." Pearl called out, getting ignored by the two. "For Christ's sake."

"Heh, thought you didn't believe in God." Amethyst hopped and went down the slope on her back.

"He is intriguing, but that's not what I was referring to." Pearl answered, realizing Sapphire and Ruby had also left "Hey, wait for me!"

Connie ran into the town and took in the environment, enthralled by the wood and stone houses that lined the cobblestone street. The town felt small and homey despite how large it actually was, the buildings set close together with several small stands and shops at nearly every corner. She enjoyed the sight of the area, getting a somewhat Irish vibe from the red and brown-haired townspeople - who all seemed to have non-human skin tones like blue and paper white - and the green that seeped through every part of the town's design.

"Hello, young lady." An old man waved at her from a small store. "Are you're traveller?"

"Yeah." Connie turned to him. "It's a nice place you have here."

"Well, it's nice to have you here." The man smoked his pipe. "It's a rarity to see a regular looking person around here."

"Huh?"

"Connie, wait up!" Steven caught up with her. "Pearl's looking for ya."

"Oh, forget her, let's explore this place!" Connie grabbed his hand.

"But, what about the -," Steven yelped as she dragged him along.

A few feet behind them came Pearl, Sapphire, Ruby and Amethyst who'd just missed the two as they took a corner. "Where'd they run off to?" Pearl looked around.

"You could just call them telepathically." Sapphire suggested.

"I could, but I don't want to make a habit of using it and seeing what people are thinking." Pearl glowered at Amethyst who cackled evilly.

"Ha, try sharing a mind with this pervert!" Ruby nudged Sapphire. "Amethyst's a saint compared to her."

"Sapphire? No!" Amethyst gasped mockingly.

"Uh," Sapphire blushed, clearing her throat. "Let's go find the children." She walked off.

"Share with me your wisdom, O' great Sapphire!" Amethyst quickly followed her. "Bestow upon me thine degeneracy, Pervy Sage!"

"I told you not to tell anybody about that!" Sapphire berated Ruby.

"What? I didn't specify what you were thinking." Ruby held back a laugh, annoying her.

Pearl stayed a few feet behind, watching the three ahead of her. "It's always the quiet ones."

"Well, what have we here? A group of travelers?" A tall man with pure white skin walked up to them. "I'm Gen, the Town Leader, and this is Oval Town."

"Uh, thank you for having us." Pearl searched for words. "We're not staying long, we're just need some directions; we're trying to -,"

"Hey, what's that thing over there?" Amethyst pointed at the large energy oval in the distance.

"Oh, that is the Oval." Gen looked to the object. "It's been the lifeline of our town since its founding generations ago." He turned to the Gems. "It's a gift from the earth itself!"

"What do you mean?" Sapphire inquired.

"Let me show you." Gen walked on, the three women following him. "Before this town was created, our founding father discovered the Oval which he grew enamored by and decided to settle here with his family, soon joined by other families and clans over the generations." He gestured to the different shops lining the street. "The Oval provides us with the essence of earth itself, Gaia Energy, which has revolutionized the way we live! It's given us a connection to the earth that no one else has!"

Pearl looked around and witnessed what Gen was talking about: seeing a woman planting a seed in a pot and raising her hand above it, causing it to give a yellow glow and sprout into a seedling in seconds! At an art shop opposite her, a man stood before a large boulder and ran his hand along it, causing the rock to mold into the shape of a woman's face! "Interesting ..." Pearl said blankly.

"Isn't that just magic though?" Amethyst's brow arched.

"It's easy to confuse the two, but they're different." Gen explained. "While magic harnesses the energy of cosmos which can then turn on the user, Gaia Energy is naturally given to those who become one with the Earth. It is a gift to her children, something only we humans can use to its full potential."

"Wait, you're human?"

"Amethyst!" Pearl scolded.

"The explosion that started the Great Mushroom war altered a lot about the people of Ooo, but we are human all the same." Gen smiled.

"Uh-huh …" Amethyst nodded. "Well, I'm bored." She shrank and turned into a bird, flying off. "Lemme see if there's anything fun for me to do around here."

"Amethyst, we're supposed to stick together!" Pearl yelled.

"We aren't on a fucking field trip, Pearl, get off my back!" Amethyst retorted.

"Maybe we should keep her on a leash, but then she'd probably like it too much." Sapphire said, gaining an exasperated groan from Pearl.

* * *

CONNIE WATCHED with wide-eyed glee as a woman standing before a small building rubbed her hands together and summoned a yellow ball of energy between her palms, molding it out into a tubular shape and twirling it before her. Weaving the tube in an intricate pattern, she let go of the energy and let it latch onto the doorway, hardening and and turning into an intertwined wooden branch! Leaves slowly grew out of the wood and soon after, birds descended and perched upon the stem!

"Wow!" Connie gleamed, turning to the woman. "How did you do that?"

"I've merely harnessed the energy of the Oval." Mira, the woman in question, said. "It's taken me a while, but I've learned how use Gaia Energy in many ways."

"And how do you do that?" Connie asked.

"Let me show you." Mira pushed aside a cloth that stood in place of a door to the building.

Connie nodded with a smile and headed inside when she noticed Steven was just standing alone on the sidewalk. "Steven? You're not coming?"

"Uh, no, I'm just gonna be out here a while." Steven replied.

Connie grew worried, but let things be, stepping into the building and seeing a group of people seated inside a living room turned into a makeshift lobby. Charts and diagrams showing the human body and different herbs were hung across the walls and she realized with a second look that the people in the room were either injured or visibly ill.

"I've been working as a local healer for some time now and I've found out how beneficial the energy is." Mira led Connie into the backroom. "I've found that most illness is due to an imbalance in the bodies' energy flow or the presence of a foreign substance and I've learned how to use Gaia Energy to return the body back to natural health."

"It can work that way?" Connie asked.

"It can; it works better than most herbs actually." Mira answered, sitting on a chair in the backroom and looking through her notes. "Although, it's becoming difficult for me to heal our people lately."

"What happened?" Connie sat behind her.

"There's a strange illness that first appeared in a hunter a few years back." Mira turned to her. "Ever since he returned, it's started to spread and I'm now seeing some animals displaying the same symptoms, and my methods aren't as effective anymore."

Connie looked into the lobby on her left and sifted her mind.

* * *

"UGH, I can't believe you and Ruby actually put up with this when you were Garnet, Sapphire." Pearl sighed in aggravation as she, Ruby, Sapphire and Gen walked down a street. "How did you not excommunicate Amethyst or something?"

"She's family, Pearl; we have to tolerate her." Sapphire shrugged.

"I know, but it's still incredibly annoying." Pearl growled. "How can she constantly think of herself and always detour from the mission!?"

Gen stood on the sidelines as the three women argued, his eyes set on Pearl as he went alongside them. He was entranced by her as he watched the beautiful woman walk beside him, gazing upon her sharp blue eyes that contrasted with her warm orange hair. Smiling slightly, he offered a suggestion. "Let me have somebody find your friends for you; it'd be much quicker."

"No, no, I wouldn't want to bother you with our problems." Pearl said nervously.

"It wouldn't be a bother at all actually." Gen shrugged. "We'd just tell them how they look and they'd do the work for us, and you and I could grab a drink."

"That sounds nice, but I don't want to trouble you." Pearl rejected again. "Uh, might I ask, how're you the town leader exactly? You seem a little young for the job."

"My dad died from a disease a few months ago and that's how yours truly got the job." Gen explained.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Pearl's expression fell.

"Nah, life happens." Gen pocketed his hands. "As leader, I've been changing things around here. The people have been a little too old school and have focused too much on the spiritual side of the Oval's power and I've opened their eyes to newer possibilities. My sister Mira's started using it for medicine and I'm looking into how we can use it for technology." He tapped a small rifle holstered on his belt. "I'm gonna do what my dad failed to."

"Well, I hope you succeed at least." Pearl shrugged.

"Oh, don't worry; I will." Gen smirked when a man called him nearby. "Gimmie a sec."

Sapphire watched the man walk off and turned to Pearl. "That man seems to like you."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I noticed how he looked at you a little earlier." Sapphire continued. "I think he has a romantic interest in you."

"Aw, that's so cute!" Ruby cooed. "I say go for it."

"Pfft, that's absurd." Pearl brushed her off, looking at Gen and considering what she said.

"Hey, Pearl." Steven hollered from across the street.

"Steven!" Pearl rushed up to him. "Thank God, you had me worried!"

"Where's Connie?" Sapphire followed after Pearl.

"She's talking to some lady at a hospital - I don't know what about though." Steven explained.

"Well, go get her; we've have to keep moving." Pearl told the boy who went on.

"Now, where could Amethyst be?" Ruby pondered when she heard the woman laugh loudly from a bar nearby. "Shoulda guessed."

Stumbling out the front door of a bar across the street, Amethyst clumsily walked onto the sidewalk with a beer in hand, being helped up by a man who had trouble keeping her up straight. "You really can't hold your liquor, can you?" He pulled her up by her side.

"Yup, and I don't give a fuck!" She slurred and took a huge sip when the bottle suddenly floated out her hand. "Hey …"

"You've had enough, Amethyst." Pearl drew the Scotch toward her and tossed it into a bin. "C'mon, it's time to go."

"Oh, fine, fine." Amethyst groaned, turning to the man holding her. "Thanks, Jeff; maybe I'll sim ya later or somn'."

Dragging herself across the street, the purple woman stood before Pearl, Ruby and Sapphire, before falling over and barely catching herself by a street light. "You really need to pull yourself together, Amethyst; this's unbecoming." Sapphire pointed out.

"Ah, whadda you know, huh?" Amethyst looked at her lazily. "You've never tasted booze this good before, so don't tell me shit." She laughed before throwing up into a bin, making Sapphire roll her eye.

"Hey, hope ya didn't miss me..." Gen returned, trailing off as he saw Amethyst vomiting. "She okay?"

"I'm sorry, but we need to keep moving." Pearl walked up to him. "Have you by any chance seen a warp pad around here? It's a large platform set on the ground that's used for space travel."

Gen tried to think. "I might've seen something like that before."

"Could you show it to us?"

* * *

GEN LOOKED back to Oval town as he came to a rise in the forest, moving past some plants and leading Pearl, Sapphire, Steven, Connie, Ruby and Amethyst further into the wood. Climbing over a downed tree, Gen came up to a silver warp pad that sat at the foot of a massive tree, bringing a smile upon Pearl's face as she and the others saw it.

"There it is!" Pearl went up to the platform.

"That'd be the third one in Ooo!" Amethyst said excitedly.

"And hopefully the one we're looking for." Pearl stepped onto the pad and shined her gem crystal upon it, causing symbols and patterns on the machine to come alight! Raising her hand, she activated the transporter's holographic control panel, scrolling through its coordinates. Alas, a frown came upon her face. "Home World's not listed here."

"Aw, what!?" Amethyst complained.

"I guess we have to find another one." Pearl shut down the device and got off it.

"Why would Home World build warp pads that only go one way?" Connie asked.

"Home World has armies posted on several planets, so some led to them and not to our Home World in the Milky Way Galaxy." Pearl explained.

"Can't you just put in these coordinates in that machine?" Gen suggested.

"We don't know them ourselves; very few gems outside of Commander rank have the exact coordinates." Pearl sighed in defeat. "Thank you for your help, but, we'll have to get going."

"Happy to help at least." Gen shrugged and walked on when a monstrous roar echoed in the distance.

"What's that?" Steven asked.

"It came from the town!" Gen realized in horror .

* * *

PANIC RAN rampant in the streets, the people fleeing and buildings burning and collapsing, the peace and quiet turned on its head! Gen and the Crystal Gems rushed into the town outskirts and found the source of the disturbance, horrified as deformed feral monsters lay waste to everything! Large, misshapen and spiky, some with scaly skin and others covered in fur, the creatures attacked anything that moved - taking the forms of bears, boars and jaguars and running amok!

"I have to stop this!" Gen drew out his rifle and rushed in without a second thought.

"Alright, we need to handle this carefully," Pearl began, "I want Amethyst and Ruby to -,"

Screaming with rage, Steven leapt high into the air toward a deformed bear that attacked a store, flying past Gen and landing with a powerful blow that sent tremors through the earth, causing the others to nearly fall off their feet! He fought like a mad man, bashing the creature's face in punch after punch and bloodying his fists, and he grabbed it by the jaw, lifting the nearly two ton behemoth and casting it into the air with one arm, sending hurtling into the forest!

Pearl stood frozen with her mouth ajar, shocked as the others were at Steven who rushed at the other monsters in blind rage. Before she could speak, a boar came at her from her left, biting into her side and ripping her in half, throwing her mangled body on the ground and spraying her blood about!

"Pearl!" Amethyst cried.

The boar looked on at its handiwork and turned to the other Gems, ready to attack when it felt something on its back. "Good thing I'm not naive enough to drop my guard like that." Pearl said as she strolled along the monster's back with a katana in hand, jumping off it. "Now sleep." The beast turned to her, confused, when a massive gash spread across its side and spilled its entrails out, killing it instantly and dropping it to the ground!

"Shit, you almost had me there for a second!" Amethyst laughed. "Thought I was gonna have to be leader next; that'd be horrifying."

"Well, good thing my clones are more convincing this time." Pearl smirked.

"Alright, Gems, let's move out!" Sapphire ordered, flying into the town.

Gen rushed into a street where three jaguars chased people down, aiming his rifle and shooting down one that pounced on a woman. The animal, though wounded, turned its attention to him like it was nothing and dashed at him, forcing him to roll out of the way at the last second. Taking the chance, Gen shot the monster in the back of the head, killing it instantly, unaware of another beast that leapt at him from behind!

Rushing into the scene, Connie blocked the jaguar's attack, locking Rose's sword with its sharp teeth and she slit its jaw, jumping back and making distance between her and it. The beast retaliated and charged at her wildly, the girl sheathing the blade and drawing out a bow and arrow, firing an explosive projectile into its eye and blowing its head to bits! She put her weapon away when Gen shot a monster behind her over her shoulder, downing the creature.

"Good shot." She chuckled.

In another part of the town, Sapphire flew over beasts that destroyed buildings, shooting them down with blasts of ice and coming down with a frosted blade, stabbing a giant bear in the head and slashing its brains open. Ruby came in alongside her and blasted fire at a large bear nearby, stunned as the monster shrugged off the attack and lunged at her suddenly! Failing to react in time, she blocked the carnivore with her arm, getting her skin clawed into by the beast!

Bleeding out, Ruby pushed against the monster and it tugged at her flesh, drawing out an agonized scream as it mutilated her arm. Hearing this, Sapphire reacted quickly and fired a ball of ice at the monster, freezing over its entire body! Shaken, Ruby fell to her knees and looked at the massive wounds on her arms, regenerating them as fast as she could.

"Ruby, are you okay?" Sapphire came to her side.

"Y-yeah," Ruby clenched her fists as she healed. "I - my fire didn't work on that thing."

"If you don't pour enough magical energy into it, then it's just regular fire, Ruby." Sapphire flew off. "You should be more careful next time." Ruby watched her leave and gritted her teeth in anger, rising up and looking for another creature.

Running across a rooftop on another street, Amethyst jumped down toward a boar, lassoing its neck with her whip and slamming it to the ground. Smashing her foot against its skull, she wrung the noose around it and snapped the beasts' neck, unwinding the rope as it stopped moving. Connie entered the street behind her and saw two more downed monsters, relaxing as it seemed the battle was over when the earth shook again, drawing her attention to her left where Steven drove a monster into the ground!

Digging into the cobblestone, Steven pummeled the bear relentlessly, smashing its bone and not realizing that it was nothing more than a carcass. Connie saw this and ran up to him. "Steven, stop!" She called out, horrified as he turned to her with a murderous glare in his eyes, his arms and chest covered in blood. "What happened to you…?"

Steven calmed down from his rage and looked at his hands, huffing and rising to his feet, steam bursting from his body as he vaporized the blood off of him. Connie frowned in worry as Steven merely looked away from her, seeing Pearl enter the street behind her. "Is that all of them?" The pale woman asked.

"Yeah, it should be." Amethyst twirled her whip and let go of it, causing it to disappear.

"Okay, then let's find Sapphire and Ruby and -," Pearl tried to say when a shrill scream interrupted her. "What in the….?"

She turned to the source of the cries and out of the forest came Peridot who was crying frantically, soon being chased after by a massive bear monster that snapped the trees like nothing. The green girl ran from the creature helplessly, prompting Pearl to draw out her sword when something suddenly crashed into the beast, halting it instantly. Looking through the resultant cloud of dust, Pearl realized that was in fact someone who had stopped the creature, enraged as she recognized her.

"You really need to learn how to fight, Peridot." Jasper chuckled as she stepped off the bear's crushed head. "It's a cute thing, I'll admit."

"Peridot, are you okay?" Lapis Lazuli called out as she entered the town.

"Lapis!" Tears flowed freely down Peridot's face and she ran up to her, embracing her tightly. "It almost killed me!"

"I know, I know." Lapis patted her head. "You should stick to the group next time."

Pearl watched the three cautiously; looking for an opportunity to strike when she saw Lion arrive alongside Helio Quartz! "Lion?"

"What're you doing here?" Sapphire descended from the skies, shooting a glare at Jasper who finally noticed them.

"Well, well." Jasper sneered.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **And we're back! It took us a while, but we finally have the second part of this story figured and planned out! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and will keep following as we continue the Crystal Gems' journey!**

 **If you** **'re new here and wanna see more, then check out our other books! I'd recommend the previous Steven Universe book or Gravity Falls which ties into it. If you're interested in something else entirely, then I'd suggest a Big Hero 6 book we just started called The Star and The Skull or an Adventure Time book we did called World Chaos.**

 **Be sure to leave us a comment, it really helps us know what you like or dislike about the story, and check out our Deviantart or Tumblr for character designs** **of our previous books** **. Thanks for reading.**


	2. The Offer

**THE OFFER**

SAPPHIRE STUDIED Jasper, Helio, Lapis, Peridot and Lion as they stood before her and the Crystal Gems on the town's outskirts, wondering what they were doing there in the first place. She tried to read their minds to find out, unable to as there was a psychic interference being put out by Jasper herself, one of the most powerful she had ever felt. Looking at the orange gem's snake like eyes, she felt a deep anger rage within her, holding herself back from reacting hastily for Lion's sake.

"What're you doing here?" The blue woman demanded.

"Tried reading my mind, huh? Heh, my old man taught me how to make the old noggin an impenetrable steel trap." Jasper smirked. "Even Pink Diamond couldn't get in." Sapphire frowned at this.

"What have you done with Lion?" Pearl drew out her katana. "I won't show mercy if you've hurt him."

"Whoa, relax; we didn't do anything to him." Peridot held up her hands. "He came to us actually."

"What?" Pearl's brow arched.

"Yeah, I'm not buying that." Amethyst crossed her arms.

"Lion's an old friend of mine and he told me to come find you," Jasper stepped forward, "Though I wasn't expecting to find you so soon, or so unceremoniously."

"What're you talking about?" Sapphire asked, her tone becoming less angry and more confused.

"Heh, guess she really did a number on you, didn't she?" Jasper looked to Lion then back to Sapphire, "Lion only speaks telepathically, but it's in such a low frequency that only high level telepaths can hear. I bet you could if you tried."

Sapphire considered what Jasper said, looking at Lion and scanning his body inside and out. Concluding that he had no injuries, she slowly descended and approached Jasper. "Wait, you can't trust her!" Ruby cried.

"I know what I'm doing." Sapphire walked up to Jasper, looking up to the tall woman. "Show me."

"Alright." Jasper held out her hand and her eyes glowed, looking into Sapphire's eye and connecting with her in the psychic realm. She brought her deeper into the plane, further out of the range of everyone else's thoughts, and entered a dark empty void. The metaphysical Sapphire felt an intense grief as she entered the realm, stunned as she saw a tear from Jasper as she stood with her.

"There he is." Jasper gestured to her left, pointing Sapphire to Lion who sat facing away from them.

Sapphire looked to the animal and finally heard the frequency he was emitting, what his voice actually sounded like. It was deep and heavy, but had a gentleness and warmth to it that she immediately grew fond of as she heard it. Despite his cheerful tone, a deep sorrow and loneliness seeped behind every word, one that was many years old and would not go away.

Returning to the physical realm, Sapphire looked to Lion who sat beside Lapis - she could finally hear him clearly! "Jasper's telling the truth." Sapphire turned to the others. "He wants us to work with them."

"Wait, who are these guys exactly?" Steven asked.

"They are commanders under White Diamond." Pearl began. "I don't recognize all of them, but she is Jasper; an old enemy of the Crystal Gems."

"I was trained and tortured by her for centuries before Rose saved me from them." Ruby growled. "She is a heartless monster who would turn on her own kind if it meant victory."

"Watch your tongue, you little brat!" Jasper yelled. "I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a traitor!"

"You killed my friends!" Ruby screamed in rage, an intense fire bursting out of her when Sapphire raised her arm, blocking her way. "Sapphire …?"

"Hear her out, Ruby." Sapphire said to her. "I know what she's done, I know it well, but Lion trusts her and I trust him." She turned to Jasper. "Let's hear what they have to say."

Ruby looked at Sapphire in disbelief then to Jasper and Lion and sighed heavily, putting out the flames around her. "Alright."

"Fluffball here says you guys can help me in my quest to destroy Home World," Jasper put a hand on her hip. "I didn't agree with him at first, but I thought I'd give his idea a shot."

"Wait, you want to destroy Home World?" Sapphire asked.

"What? I didn't stutter, did I?" Jasper turned to Lapis.

"Well, they're kinda not expecting someone who's been with Home World since the Gem War to suddenly turn on them at the drop of a hat." Lapis chuckled. "They need to understand why you're doing it."

"I'm so fucking confused." Amethyst scratched her head.

"I would have fought with the Crystal Gems the moment I heard about you, but I couldn't because your plans were flawed." Jasper said. "Your efforts were in vain and you would have never succeeded."

"You're lying!" Ruby screamed again. "If you cared about our cause, you would have helped us, but you killed us instead! You've always been Home World scum!"

"Do you even know what I had to go through?" Jasper walked up to her. "I had to kill my own friends when they joined the Crystal Gems just to keep the Diamonds off my back! If they found out what I was planning, many more lives would have been lost!"

"So, your friends' lives didn't matter to you?" Ruby responded. "You couldn't just explain it to them."

"You don't know what it's like to have a Diamond constantly watching your back; watching every move you make." Jasper said. "Having to fabricate false thoughts so they wouldn't read your mind!" She began to breathe heavily, slowly composing herself. "I've sacrificed so much; I have planned for many, many years for this. I have gathered armies, weapons and I have studied Home World's structure inside and out and I know how to bring it to its knees." She sighed. "Will you help me or not?"

Sapphire tried to think, glancing at Lion and Ruby, and she sighed. "No, no we won't."

"Same here." Pearl stepped forward. "You may want to put down Home World as well, but we can't trust you. If Lion wants to go with you, then it's his decision to make, but we're not going to work with you."

Jasper looked at Pearl and the other Crystal Gems, huffing, as they seemed to all agree. "I knew this was a waste of time." She began to leave.

"I'll work with you." Steven said, halting Jasper.

"What?!" Pearl, Ruby and Sapphire turned to Steven.

"Steven, what're you talking about? These guys destroyed Beach City!" Connie cried.

"If somebody knows how to fight a Diamond, it's someone who's worked with one." Steven walked up to Jasper. "I want you to train me so I can get stronger; I don't want to lose again."

"Hmm." Jasper scrutinized him.

"Steven, you can't be serious." Pearl quickly pulled the boy towards her. "We can train you; we've always been training you - we can just find out new, better techniques."

"Yeah, we can even find somebody in Ooo who knows how to fight." Amethyst added. "Maybe we can even ask that Billy guy Finn always talks about."

"Billy's dead and we weren't prepared at all when Home World attacked Beach City." Steven frowned. "I was helpless when White Diamond attacked and if there're more as strong as she is, we're toast."

"Actually, Blue's the strongest Diamond, so you'd be pretty screwed if you couldn't lay a finger on White." Peridot noted.

Steven looked at Peridot then to the others. "We need all the help we can get; we're not strong enough to face Home World on our own." He turned to Jasper. "Train me."

Jasper scrutinized the boy, seeing the fury and determination in his eyes. "Alright, I'll train you."

Pearl and the other gems froze upon hearing this, Connie reaching forward and grabbing Steven's hand. "Steven, can I talk to you for a second?"

Steven turned to Connie, not answering, and stepped away from the others. "Steven, you can't be serious." She chastised in a hushed tone.

"I am serious; this's the best chance I have." Steven insisted.

"But how can you trust her? She's from Home World."

"I don't know if I can, but I need to take this chance." Steven said, seeing Connie's worry. "Look, I know this's crazy and I know what Home World's capable of, but that's exactly why I have to do this." He looked at his hands and sighed. "I'm not strong enough, none of us are. People died because we couldn't protect them and I'm not gonna let that happen again."

Connie tried to speak, but cut herself off, sighing reluctantly. "Just be safe, okay?"

Steven nodded and returned to the others, walking toward Jasper. "I don't know how long this'll take, but I won't come back until I'm stronger."

"But, Steven -," Amethyst tried to speak, but Pearl held her arm out, stopping her.

"Just be careful, Steven." Pearl said reluctantly. "And contact us when you've finished so we can come get you."

"Relax, I won't hurt him." Jasper smirked, getting a scowl from Pearl. "Alright, let's go."

"I'll stay with the Crystal Gems until you're done." Lapis said, walking up to Pearl. "Children irritate me."

Jasper looked at her curiously then shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Jasper, Helio and Steven headed towards the forest, leaving the others behind as Lapis joined the Crystal Gems – Peridot quickly following behind her. Lapis shot a glare at Sapphire, this going unseen by the others, and Pearl watched Steven as he went, questioning her decision to let him leave. Raising her hand, the pale woman summoned a small magic circle that attached to the boy's back, disappearing shortly after as he entered the woods.

"Don't worry about us getting in your way." Lapis crossed her arms. "We'll follow your orders while we're here."

"Yup." Peridot beamed.

Sapphire shook her head. "Fine." She turned to the others. "We should return to the town and see if everyone's alright." She flew off.

Returning to town, Pearl and the others entered a street where several men were looking closely at the downed beasts that they had managed to pull to the center of town – Pearl moving up to Gen and Mira who were studying a boar carcass. "Is everyone okay?"

"Fortunately there've only been a few injured – no casualties." Gen said, stroking his chin.

"It's quite odd though." Mira said as she ran her hands on the side of the beast. "I'm sensing large amounts of Gaia Energy from the creatures; it's what gave them their power."

"Yes, I'd been sensing that too, but I wasn't sure." Pearl frowned.

"But, how's that possible? I thought Gaia Energy was peaceful and therapeutic." Connie questioned.

"There's no such thing as good or bad energy." Mira said. "It's what it's used for or what form it's shaped into that defines its alignment. But I've never seen anything like this before."

"So, you're saying someone used the Energy to corrupt these animals." Sapphire landed beside her.

"I can't say for certain, but it's a strong possibility." Mira stood up. "I'll have to study these beasts more to be sure."

"Then I'll have the men bring one of these to your workshop." Gen said, calling over a man who was nearby.

Pearl looked around at the buildings damaged by the attack, sifting her mind. "We'll need to make sure the town's safe before we continue looking for a warp pad back to Home World." She turned to the others. "Let's find out where these animals came from and put them down before they attack again."

"Right." Sapphire nodded.

"Sapphire, Lion, Lapis and Peridot, you'll come with me." Pearl ordered. "Connie, Amethyst and Ruby, you stay here and help the townspeople anyway you can."

"I'll be coming to." Gen said, holstering his rifle. "I know these woods better than anyone."

Pearl turned to him, hesitating. "Okay, let's go."

Ruby watched as Pearl, Gen, Lion, Sapphire, Lapis and Peridot went on into the forest, turning to Amethyst and heading out with her into another street, leaving Connie behind. Connie watched from a distance as Mira went around with a group of women and healed injured people miraculously that were carried in from around the town. Enamored, she went up to the woman who waved her hand over a gash on an old lady's leg, spreading energy over it that caused it to slowly close up on its own.

"I've been around enough and I've seen your work first hand, so I've made up my mind." Connie said, grabbing Mira's attention. "I want to learn how to use Gaia Energy."

* * *

ELSEWHERE IN town, Amethyst and Ruby entered a street were people were trying to clear away the rubble from an attack. Walking up to a group of men, Amethyst cracked her whip and drew their attention. "Hey there, need some help?"

"Uh …" A man said in confusion.

Chuckling, Amethyst lassoed a fallen wooden beam and yanked it toward her, lifting it with one arm. "C'mon, we don't wanna just stand around doing nothing." She walked on. "Let's keep working."

"Okay," He said, stunned by her strength.

Watching Amethyst leave, Ruby moved up to a large boulder and tried to pick it up when a large foot stepped on it. "Ya sure you can handle it, Ruby?" A familiar voice said.

Ruby looked up and froze in shock. "Bismuth?"

"What? Ya daydreamin' again?" The giant woman chuckled. "Listen, you probably wanna handle somethin' easier; large scale repairs are a little above you. Let another ruby handle it."

"I can handle this!" Ruby growled.

"Uh, Ruby?" Amethyst called, making Ruby turn to her. "Who're you talking to?"

Ruby squinted and turned to the large boulder, seeing that no one was there. Realizing that it was only a memory, she glanced around uncomfortably. "Uh, it's nothing I was, uh …" She sifted her mind. "I'll get to work."

Grabbing a hold of the boulder, Ruby went down the street toward a pile of rubble the people were collecting. She looked blankly onward as she walked, her mind filling with voices as she struggled to fight off the doubts in her mind. As she continued walking however, she began to wonder why the rock started to feel lighter.

"Ruby!" Amethyst cried out.

"Huh?" Ruby blinked, realizing that she was about to drop the boulder on three men! "Whoa!" She quickly held the rock, mere inches from crushing them!

"What're you doing?" Amethyst rushed towards her and took the boulder. "You could've killed them!"

Ruby looked at Amethyst, seeing how she carried the rock deftly in one hand while she had to struggle to do it. Looking around, the red woman saw the commotion she had caused as people started to stare at her. "I … I'm sorry, I'll be careful next time."

"Are you okay? Maybe you should sit down for a bit."

"No!" Ruby yelled, noticing her outburst. "… No, I'm fine." She sifted her mind. "I'll get back to work." She walked off, leaving Amethyst confused.

* * *

JASPER POCKETED her hands as she looked at the twilight sky, enjoying the stars and remembering the time she spent in the plains of Dragonbloom. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Steven pull himself up onto the mountain side and Helio who drew out a small disc from his gauntlet and chucked it forward, letting it levitate and fly off.

"I'll be studying the area for a while." The black gem said, drawing out a small pen-shaped device from his pocket and tossing to Jasper. "You can set up camp without me."

"Sure." Jasper received the device, seeing him fly off.

Jasper pocketed the pen and looked at the mountains around them. "I've been looking to work the Crystal Gems for some time now, but I've never had any opportunities to see if they were willing or not." She clicked on some buttons on her gauntlet. "I'd fought Sapphire when Home World invaded your home a few months ago and she intrigued me."

"What do you mean?" Steven sat on a rock nearby.

"She let me defeat her." Jasper crossed her arms. "I could sense an immense energy from her that she was desperately trying to suppress during our battle; she'd rather die than use it against me."

"Oh …"

"My point is that I value strength in those I work with." Jasper pressed a button on her gauntlet, summoning a force field that spread around the two and covered several square meters around them. "And I test their strength in battle."

Steven looked at the force field and became nervous. "What's this?"

"This is a device Helio developed as we'd travelled these lands for the past few months." Jasper began. "Within this field, time is stretched out so we can perform tasks at record speed. One Terran day outside is two months in here, so we can train virtually forever." She removed her cloak. "If I'm going to train you, I'll need to assess your strength first."

"Oh, okay." Steven got up. "What do you want me to do? Lift a boulder, levitate, or …?"

"I want you to fight me."

"What?"

"Show me how strong you are, human!" Jasper grinned as an aura of intense energy burst out of her.

Steven gulped in fear. "Uh …"

* * *

MOONLIGHT GLIMMERED through the trees and lit up their path as Pearl, Gen, Sapphire, Lion, Lapis and Peridot travelled through the wood. The area felt much different from the landscape of Oval Town even though they were only a couple kilometers away from it. There was a great amount of colorfulness in the plant life around them and the animals seemed more active than they were in the day, much to Peridot's intrigue.

"So, where did you find Jasper before coming to us, Lion?" Pearl turned to the animal, getting no response, then looked to Sapphire. "Could you translate?"

"He's not saying anything." Sapphire said. "I guess Lion's just a silent gem in general."

"Hey, how come we didn't see any of these creatures elsewhere?" Peridot strayed off from the others, reaching out to a small bird with six wings that perched on a tree.

"Don't wonder off, Peridot." Lapis held the green girl's hand.

"What? I'm not going to get lost again." Peridot insisted, getting a disbelieving look from Lapis. "I'm not."

"That's what you said before that bear almost got you earlier." Lapis let go of her hand. "We don't know what kind of animals Terra has, so you should be careful."

"Ugh, fine." Peridot pouted. "I just wanted to find out if they were like the birds on Home World since they looked so similar."

Pearl, becoming unnerved upon hearing this, stepped ahead of the group and looked into different light spectrums, looking for traces of the corrupted animals that had attacked the town. She looked at the ground; the plants and the sky above, searching for footprints, claw marks or anything at all that could lead to their whereabouts. As she did so however, her pupils slowly began to turn red though she failed to notice.

"I think we may need to employ different methods in order to find these creatures." Gen went up to a tree and ran his hand along the bark. "If they were indeed corrupted by Gaia Energy then they should be emitting it wherever they go."

"Good thinking." Peridot smiled and summoned four light clones that dispersed into the woods.

Releasing a blue glow from her eyes, Pearl looked at the energy fields in the area, seeing many energy waves that mixed in with each other. Separating those of herself and the gems from the others, she started to search for concentrated traces of Gaia Energy, finding that troublesome as the trees themselves produced small traces of it. She shut her eyes as the sight became overwhelming, trying to focus on any that felt out of place, anything that disrupted the natural flow in the area. She found it.

"Alright, I think I've found something." Pearl opened her eyes and turned around, finding no one behind her! "Guys?"

* * *

"LAPIS?" PERIDOT cried as she walked through a foggy path in the forest. "Lapis, where are you?"

"Peridot!" Lapis called out as she walked through a patch of leaves.

"What happened? Where're the others?" Peridot walked up to her.

"I don't know, I just blinked and the next thing I knew I was in a river." Lapis said, waving her hand and getting the water off her clothes.

"Oh, there you two are." Sapphire said blankly as she descended from the skies, followed below by Lion. "It seems we got separated by some strange magic."

"Yeah, seems about right." Lapis crossed her arms.

"So, what now?" Peridot asked.

"We need to find Pearl and Gen and get out of here before anything else goes wrong." Sapphire said.

"Yeah, that's gonna have to wait." Lapis frowned and looked into the shadows to her right. "We've got company."

Several eyes shone through the darkness in the wood around the four gems, followed by growls and shuffling in the bushes. Peridot held Lapis' arm as the noises loudened and the trees started to shake and fall over, making Lapis, Sapphire and Lion become tense. Bursting through the trees like twigs, a gigantic one-eyed wolf leapt out and landed before the four, circling them and eyeing its prey.

"It seems we were on the right path." Sapphire summoned ice around her.

"Yeah, no shit." Lapis frowned.

Howling at the sky, the wolf called more monsters that revealed themselves from the woods around them, surrounding the four gems, and charging at them full speed!

* * *

CLIMBING OVER a fallen tree, Pearl entered a burned area of the woods she had not seen mere seconds before, confused as the area she had just come from had also changed. The trees around her were nothing like they were before she lost track of the others, none of them pointing upward, but rather intertwining and shifting back into the ground like overgrown roots. She looked at the smoke rising from the earth before her and picked the smoking ash, confused, as it seemed to have burned decades ago, but felt fresh at the same time.

"What is this …?" She asked herself when a voice caught her attention

"Pearl!" Gen's voice came, drawing Pearl's attention as she turned and saw him trying to rip himself away from a tree that was wrapping around him!

"Gen, hold on!" She ran up to him.

"Stay back! You don't want to attract the other trees here!" Gen cried and reached for his rifle, blasting a hole in the roots and causing it to drop him on the ground. Pushing himself up, he fired at the tree repeatedly, incinerating it to bits!

"What's going on? What happened to the others?" Pearl asked.

"They've been taken by the forest." Gen said curtly.

"What're you talking about?"

Gen hissed as he saw a gash on his arm. "There're portions of the forests that'll try to eat you alive if you're not careful; that's why I insisted on coming along because I know how to avoid them." He ripped a piece of his shirt and covered the wound. "But I guess the energy's become harder for me to trace now."

"Well, how do we find the others?" Pearl asked.

"We'll just need to follow them by their energy, but it might take a while." Gen sighed. "I'm sorry about this."

"No, it's fine, we'll find them soon enough." Pearl moved up to him and held out her hand. "May I?"

Gen hesitated and held his arm out to her, showing her the gash that was mere inches away from exposing the bone. Holding her hand over the cut, Pearl covered it with her energy and started to heal it, pressing against his skin as it slowly closed shut. She felt his warmth as she held him, looking at him and getting drawn into his deep green eyes as he looked into hers.

Gen became lost in the moment when he saw a large branch snaking up to Pearl from behind. "Pearl, behind you!"

Pearl reached for her katana to defend herself when a bolt of lightning gutted the branch instantly! The two froze in shock and turned to the direction where the electricity came from, seeing a dark-haired man garbed in black clothing approaching them. "You should be more careful when traversing these woods." The man said blankly. "Wouldn't consider this a place to get comfortable in."

"Uh," Pearl quickly let go of Gen. "Who are you?"

"I am Sasuke Uchiha."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **There ya go, Chapter 2!**

 **Sorry it took so long, but I just felt lazy honestly and got a little sidetracked, but I'm back now! It's too bad I couldn't really show why this is a crossover with Naruto from the very first chapter, but Oval Town had to be set up first. Now that that's done, we can get into the meat of the story.**

 **Please leave a comment or review if there's anything you like or hate about the story or if you have any questions and check out our Deviantart and Tumblr for character designs! Thanks for reading.**


	3. Truths

**TRUTHS**

PEARL AND Gen looked at the dark-haired man suspiciously, ready for anything yet careful not to do anything that'd result in unnecessary conflict. Pearl was still reeling from what'd just happened, seeing the ash of the branch in her peripheral from the man's lightning attack. What was he? Was he human or a Gem posing as a human?

"Who are you?" Pearl frowned.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha." The man stepped out of the shadows, revealing his red right eye and purple left eye. "You two seem to have fallen into the same trap I fell into about a week ago."

"You've been here for a week?" Gen asked.

"Unfortunately." Sasuke looked to a tree on his right. "This area seems to be a tear in space-time that's forced us between two points in time; the present and several years ago during the Great Mushroom War. There appears to be more of these distortions popping up worldwide."

"Did, did you lose your arm while you were here?" Pearl asked hesitantly.

"No." Sasuke huffed. "That happened long ago."

"Well, whatever this distortion is, I can get us out of here." Gen holstered his rifle. "I've been caught in these before and I know how to escape."

Sasuke tried to respond when he noticed Pearl's red eyes, bringing a frown to his face. "Where did you get those?"

"Get what?" Pearl's brow arched.

"Those eyes, the Sharingan, belong to members of the Uchiha Clan and they've been wiped out." Sasuke reached for his sword. "Either you're a Uchiha I don't know or you stole them from one and I highly doubt the former is possible."

"Uh, I don't know what you're talking about?" Pearl glanced around in confusion. "These are the eyes I was born with; I didn't get them from anywhere and I don't know what a 'Uchiha' is." She squinted. "At least I think I was born – I might be a clone."

Sasuke drew his katana and Gen started to panic. "Whoa, whoa, we're not looking for any trouble?" Sasuke vanished, leaving Gen confused. "Oh man."

"Where'd he go?" Pearl looked around.

Gen and Pearl looked at the trees around them as the woods became dead silent – the Gem drawing her katana and the human his rifle. Readying themselves, they surveyed their surroundings and prepared for anything when a massive Shuriken came rolling at them from their right! Reacting quickly, the two jumped out of the way only for Pearl to meet the steel of Sasuke's blade as he slashed her in the face, knocking her to the ground!

Hissing in pain, Pearl watched as Sasuke ran towards her, quickly closing up her left eye that was cut in half and blocking his sword with hers. "You're more of a threat than I thought." Sasuke noted. "Now, who did you steal the Sharingan from?!"

"Could you start making sense already?!" Pearl became aggravated. "I don't know what these words mean and I didn't steal anybody's eyes!"

"There're several ways I can make you talk." Sasuke pushed against her, slowly overpowering her. "I'll find out the truth one way or another."

* * *

STEVEN TAPPED his fingers together awkwardly as Jasper stood before him blazing in green energy. "Uh, can we just start with something simple? I mean, I don't know how to fly yet, so maybe you could teach me that, heh." He backed up from her.

"I thought you wanted to get strong." Jasper closed the distance between them. "Are you a coward?"

"No, no, I just." Steven swallowed hard. "I just think that a n-novice like me shouldn't fight a veteran is all." He scratched his head. "What if I just did a few laps around the mountain? Yeah, lemme just do that." He turned around and received a swift punch in the face, sending him flying several meters back! Pushing himself up, he looked at who punched him and saw clone of Jasper cocking her wrist.

"The kid's got a pretty soft face." The doppelganger grinned. "Maybe I'll skin him and make him a bag."

"Well, I can't stop her from doing what she wants." Jasper raised her hands in defeat and the clone dashed at Steven.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Steven leapt out of the way as the clone swung wildly at him, hitting the ground instead. "You're fighting me two on one? How's that fair?"

"Battle is never a fair game." Jasper let down her aura and crossed her arms. "You can be faced with tens to hundreds on a battlefield if you're cornered and you have to be prepared for anything."

"But –," Steven tried to say when the clone kicked him hard in the gut, drawing blood and smashing him into the face of the mountain behind him!

"Did I say I wanted to chat with you?" Jasper raised her brow, watching the clone stalk towards the resultant dust cloud. "Hesitating and getting distracted will get you killed. Be thankful I'm not fighting you myself or that punch would've shattered you instantly."

"Well, it didn't feel soft either." Steven grunted as he pulled himself out of the rocks.

"What did she say about chatting, you little runt!" The clone planted her boot in his face, digging him into the boulders!

"Ya know, you're not impressing me, kid." Jasper paced around. "I thought you Crystal Gems were supposed to be a threat with all the headaches you've given the Diamonds, but you just seem weak. I mean, my clones fucking suck compared to those of that dainty flower Pearl and you can't even hold your own against mine? Fucking pathetic." She began to leave. "Kill the little shit."

"No problem." The clone cackled and went for the killing blow when Steven caught her fist with one hand! "What the?"

"I'm not gonna give up." Steven pushed the clone back. "I said I'm gonna get stronger and I meant it!" Screaming in rage, he flung the doppelganger off him, sending it crashing into the rocks up ahead.

Seeing the boy panting in a haggard state, Jasper turned around with a wide grin. "That's the spirit!"

* * *

AMETHYST GROANED as she pushed herself out of bed, her tossed up hair somewhat blocking her vision as she saw her clothes strewn on the floor. It was then that it hit her, rubbing her temple as a headache continued to sear as she remembered getting extremely drunk the previous night.

Dragging her naked body out of bed, she walked around the room and started to search the place, wondering where the man she had spent the night with was, if she knew who he was to begin with. She moved toward the door when she noticed that she was in a motel, huffing to herself as she realized she'd been ditched again. Shrugging in disinterest, she went to pick up her clothes and prepared to head out.

She grabbed her underwear and moved over to her suit when she saw a small locket up ahead, her expression falling as she looked at the picture inside. Picking it up, she ran her finger along the glass and cleared the image, her heart falling as her eyes came upon the person in the image. Taking her mind off it, she grabbed her suit and got dressed, heading out of the room.

* * *

CLOSING THE door behind her, Amethyst went down the street and tried to think of what to do next, realizing that she'd lost track of Ruby. Groaning in anger, she started searching quickly, not noticing Connie and Mira who were sitting by the massive Oval in the town square. The two sat in the lotus position alongside the energy ball, which many people were communing around, and Mira cleared her mind as she began.

"The Oval has been the lifeline of our town for many generations." Mira opened her eyes. "Gaia Energy's more than just a source of power; it is the essence of life itself." She held her hand out, drawing a bird to perch on her finger. "It is balance and connection to nature, and it is open for all humans to harness."

"But, how do you do it exactly?" Connie asked. "How do I heal people or the other things it can do?"

"No, you don't do anything; you simply open yourself up to the force so it can use you." Mira corrected. "It does its wonders through you; you merely direct it from one place to another."

"I'm confused, how do I not use it and use it at the same time?" Connie's brows crossed.

"It's difficult to explain in words honestly, but you understand it as you move on." Mira chuckled. "What's important is you understand that in order to harness Gaia Energy, you have to be one with your surroundings – to be one with nature. The energy is the life force of the planet itself, so connecting with it is the only way to harness Gaia Energy."

"And, how do I become one with nature?"

"You already have."

"What?"

"You've become one with nature by bonding with your sword." Mira pointed at Rose's sword on the ground. "That blade was made with Gaia Energy; whoever created it had an affinity for it far greater than mine."

Connie looked at the sword. "Whoa …"

"You've achieved a step to the process that takes most people decades to accomplish; all you need to do now is learn how to harness the energy itself." Mira placed her hand on the Oval. "Now place your hand on the Oval and focus on it alone; close your mind from everything else." Connie touched the ball and shut her eyes. "Now breathe and calm your thoughts; let the energy flow through you."

Connie took a deep breath and began to meditate, the sounds around her disappearing as she zoned in on the sensation in her hand, the tingling of the Oval's surface. As she did so however, Rose's sword began to emit a soft light and the blue flower on its hilt started to grow.

* * *

"OKAY, OKAY, I think I can get a better read on it if you just hold it still!" Peridot grinned as she held up a small scanner to a giant frog that Lapis pinned to a tree with a tube of water.

"Peridot, I thought I told you to stay back!" Lapis yelled.

"C'mon, I wanna add it to the archive of alien creatures!" Peridot whined. "Man, if only I had an Omnitrix, then I could do this in a fifth of a second!"

"How many times will I tell you that that's just a myth?" Lapis slashed the amphibian in half. "Azmuth was a mad scientist; that level of transformation's not possible without corrupting the DNA of the user itself or killing them from overuse."

"Well, you said Unicorns were a myth, so what about that, huh?" Peridot gave a smug smile.

"That was witchcraft!" Lapis scoffed. "How can you honestly misinterpret a witch's illusion as the real thing? I thought you were a girl of science."

"It felt real." Peridot pouted. "And besides, you can't discover anything new if you're not open-minded; so I believe the Omnitrix's is real and I'm gonna make one or find one." She yelped as Lion fired a sonic wave past her with a mighty roar, hitting a reptilian gorilla behind her and ripping it to shreds instantly!

"Your daydreaming's gonna get you killed." Lapis frowned.

"Well, that's why I have you to protect me." Peridot giggled.

The blue woman blushed, holding back a smile. "You know, that whole cute thing's gonna wear off one day."

"Yeah, and you said that fifteen years ago too." The green girl pointed out. "Face it, you love me." Lapis groaned, amusing the green girl more.

Sapphire monitored the two from afar, unable to hear what they were saying, but able to see what they were doing. They seemed friendly enough, but she could not get the feeling out of her mind that they were up to something nefarious. She also wondered why they seemed so familiar, as if she had seen them somewhere before.

She lost herself in her thoughts, unable to see the giant white wolf as it pounced on her and pinned her on the ground! She cried out in pain as the monster dug its claws into her flesh, drawing blood and slowly reaching her heart! The monster growled as it went for the kill when Lapis sent four strips of water stabbing right through its side and Lion rammed into its midsection, flinging it many meters back!

"What the hell are you doing?" Lapis put a hand on her hip.

Sapphire pushed herself up, holding her chest as she slowly healed it. "What're you talking about?"

"That shouldn't have hurt you at all, so why did it?" Lapis walked up to her. "Why have you weakened yourself?"

"I don't understand." Sapphire frowned.

Lapis scoffed. "You really take us for a bunch of infants, huh? Fine, I'll put it this way: I know your secret." Sapphire remained silent. "You've been lying to everyone for a very long time, but the truth has to come out one way or another."

Sapphire glanced at Lion and hesitated. "I have nothing to hide; whatever it is you think I'm lying about, I'm not."

"You can't keep this game up, Sapphire; if that's even your real name." Lapis shook her head. "All those years looking down at us from above and now you're here playing it up for everyone; it's disappointing." Sapphire stayed quiet. "You can't keep it a secret anymore; Jasper, Peridot and I already know the truth and the Crystal Gems will know soon enough."

"You wouldn't dare." Sapphire growled.

"Oh, I don't plan to; you're going to admit it yourself."

"And why would I?"

"Because I don't think Jasper cares enough to keep a tight lip about it, and because," She gestured to Lion, "He's known all along."

Sapphire froze upon hearing it, staring at the animal in surprise. "How long?"

"Since you joined the Gems." Lapis explained. "You may've been able to cover your power from everyone else, but not him. It's over, Sapphire; you have to let them know the truth about who you are."

Sapphire looked to Lion and glanced around frantically, seeing the corrupted animals around them starting to stir. Her heart raced as her lies caught up with her, her mind clouded with fear as she thought about Steven and the others. Emotions welled up within her and she screamed out in rage, releasing and intense wave of ice that froze all the monsters around her and half of the valley!

Lapis moved her arm away as she shielded her eyes from the outburst, amazed as everything was under a blanket of snow and powerful winds swept the area! Standing before her was Sapphire who was bathed in pure white energy, her eye aglow and her skin slowly freezing over as frost snaked up her limbs. The clouds above parted from her intense release, allowing the moon to shine over the woman and give her an ominous glow.

"Whoa …" Sapphire exhaled in awe.

* * *

PEARL GASPED as she pushed herself up and coughed badly, looking around in a panic as she came to with a start. She squinted as there was nothing but blackness around her and she put her hand down, puzzled by a sticky feeling that spread between her fingers. Looking down, she saw what it was and jumped up in horror as a sea of black maggots covered everything beneath her!

"What is this?" She began to hyperventilate, desperately kicking away the worms as they climbed up her legs and burrowed into her flesh!

Looking around, she tried to find a way out when the maggots started to swirl and bulge a few feet ahead, drawing her attention to them. They stopped as soon as she turned to them and soon after burst out as a massive thirty-foot black snake emerged from the depths! Fear rendered Pearl immobile as the serpent slithered around, beginning to shiver as it stared her in the eye!

"Not snakes, not snakes." She tried to calm her breath. "It's not real, it's not real; it can't be real." The creature hissed at her, revealing its moist, long tongue made of smaller, shriveled up serpents. "Oh God …" She backed up.

She walked back from the creature as it slowly followed her, trying and failing to figure out a means of escape when she felt a squirming sensation in her legs. Looking down, she saw where the feeling came from as the maggots had gotten up to her knees and had dug their way into her! She felt lightheaded, overwhelmed with panic as the snake drew closer and closer to her.

Closing her hands as they trembled, the pale woman steeled herself and ignored the maggots devouring her skin, looking up at the monster before her and staring into its eyes. She remembered what Garnet had told her as she learned about spells and illusions, about how giving in to the emotion it wanted meant you were forever trapped in it. She simply had to focus, to put her fears aside. She could do it.

The maggots moved further and further up her body as she stayed in place and looked at the monster in the eye, letting it get closer as well. It came mere inches away from her face and she began to falter, her nerves getting the better of her as its tongue slithered out and reached out to her. She began to reach her breaking point, the overwhelming fear she suppressed beginning to bubble to the surface!

The snake began to open its mouth, ready to swallow her whole when Pearl intercepted it and placed a hand on its face, stopping it in place! A sudden boldness took over as she looked the devil in the eye, her own eyes becoming red once more as she began to understand. Another black comma appeared on the rings around each of her irises and she exhaled as she ran her fingers on the creature's scales.

"It's over …" Pearl smiled, closing her eyes and allowing the maggots to cover her and consume her whole!

* * *

ELSEWHERE IN the forest, Gen pushed his way through a bush and entered a small open area, rifle in hand, as he looked for Pearl. His mind searched for answers as he wondered where Pearl and the strange man had gone as they vanished right in front of him. Looking behind a large tree, he continued to look for her when a familiar voice called out.

"Gen? Gen, is that you?"

Gen frowned and turned around, seeing an old man with a walking stick approached him. "Dad?"

"My boy, I've been looking for you!" The man moved up to him.

"No, no, what're you doing here?" Gen backed up.

"What do you mean? I'm your father; I've been worried sick." The man frowned. "Your mother's must be waiting for us back home; we should go back."

"What're you talking about? You abandoned us for over a year!" Gen growled. "I've told everyone else that you died to maintain your honor, but you're a selfish bastard who ran away with another woman!"

The old man paused upon hearing this, his tone becoming lower. "I know I've made mistakes, but I'm here to make things right." He held out his hand. "Let's go home, son."

Gen looked at his father's hand, his expression warming up when he pulled his rifle on him. "Nice try, you son of a bitch." He shot the man in the head, turning him into dust! "My father never left us; he was an honest man."

"Impressive." Sasuke's voice echoed throughout the forest.

Gen looked around as the fog returned to the dark woods, turning around and seeing Sasuke standing a few feet away from Pearl who was on all fours on the ground gasping for air. "Your mind is more powerful than I expected." Sasuke said.

"I've seen dozens of illusions before and I use Gaia Energy to break through them." Gen said with a frown. "It'd take a lot to fool me."

Sasuke smirked. "I think I've seen enough." He sheathed his katana. "You've proven yourselves."

"Proven what exactly?" Gen asked, clutching his rifle tightly.

"That you can be trusted." Sasuke replied. "I apologize, but I had to be thorough; those who have stolen eyes from an Uchiha before have been incredibly dangerous people – I had to make sure."

"Well, you could have just asked instead of traumatizing me!" Pearl stood up. "Why did you use snakes!?"

"It was beneficial for you in the end." Sasuke said. "You seem to have overcome your greatest fear."

"As if! I'm even more afraid than I ever was!" Pearl rubbed her arms. "I need to take a shower."

"What is this Uchiha you keep mentioning?" Gen asked.

"Yes, and what're these 'Sharingan' also?" Pearl added.

"The Uchiha are the clan of people with the Sharingan – a special set of eyes that give them the ability to create powerful ocular illusions that can affect the physical body, allow the user to copy the powers of others outside of body transformation and other abilities." Sasuke said. "It is the clan I am from and I thought we were the only ones with them, I suppose there are others I wasn't aware of."

"So, you're saying that I have these eyes?" Pearl's brow arched.

"More than that; yours are close to fully awakening." Sasuke said, noting the two tomoe in her eyes.

Pearl sifted her mind, about to ask another question when Gen cut her off. "Whatever these abilities or powers are, we need to get out of this place fast before we're permanently trapped in here."

"I've been trapped in here for three months, so I'm not sure if there is a way out." Sasuke shrugged. "Though I suppose a much shorter time has passed outside."

"Well, if you listened to me earlier, I would've told you that I know how to get out of here." Gen sighed in exasperation. "I just need to sense the pathways of energy in here and map out a path back home, though I don't know how long that'd take."

"Then my apologies; do what you can." Sasuke said. "I'd like to go home soon – haven't eaten anything in a while."

Gen studied Sasuke then looked at Pearl, receiving a nod from her. "Alright, I'll be back." He holstered his gun and walked off.

Watching Gen leave, Pearl turned to Sasuke and thought for a bit, finally moving up to him. "Um, if I have these 'eyes', how would I use them exactly?"

"The eyes give the user the power to create illusions; what they are depends on them and what other powers they acquire is unique to each person." Sasuke said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I didn't actually know these eyes existed or that I had them until I met you today, so I want you to teach me." Pearl said. "Teach me everything you know about the Sharingan; if I have them, I want to know how to use them – they're powerful people I could use them on."

Sasuke stared at Pearl and sifted his mind. "Alright." He sighed. "Since we have time on our hands, I'll teach you everything you need to know."

* * *

"YOU'RE NOTHING special," "You're nothing to us!"

Ruby struck the side of the tree angrily, trying her best to ignore the voices in her head.

"You're just another ruby," "You're worthless!"

She punched the bark repeatedly, letting out her rage and ignoring the blood that ran down her bruised fists.

"You're weak!" "It'd make no difference even if you were dead!"

Ruby screamed in anger and smashed her fist into the tree; breaking it in half and making it fall over! She breathed heavily and looked at the forest around her, seeing the many trees she had downed as she spent many hours there alone. She tried to think when Amethyst's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Whoa, what happened here?"

"Leave me alone." Ruby caught her breath. "I'm just training."

"Yeah, I've never seen you train like this before." Amethyst chuckled. "Looks like you hate these trees for some reason."

"I said leave!" Ruby yelled.

"Okay …" Amethyst was taken aback. "If this's about me losing you earlier, I'm sorry; I got a little sidetracked."

"That was two days ago!" Ruby turned to her. "I looked for you all over the place and you most likely just fucked some random asshole like you always do!" She huffed. "Just go."

Amethyst tried to speak, but cut herself off, looking at her amulet. "… Listen, I shouldn't' have ditched you; there was no reason to." She walked up to her. "I've been selfish and I'm sorry." She looked at the smaller red woman who didn't respond. "Why don't we go back to town? Sapphire and Pearl could be back any day now."

Ruby glanced at Amethyst and huffed, walking passed her and heading into the town. Amethyst hesitantly followed her, sensing the woman's rage as she saw her blood dripping from her hands.

* * *

STEVEN WAS flung through the air and crashed on the ground, leaving a trail of dust and rock behind him that led up to Jasper's clone who cracked her knuckles. Looking at the dark night sky above, Jasper snapped her finger and dismissed the doppelganger, moving past Steven who pushed himself up and hissed as wounds littered his body.

"What, we stopped? I can keep going!" Steven said, grunting as he struggled to stand.

"You lost the fight, so we're done here." Jasper said as she typed on her gauntlet.

"Oh … so, what does that mean?" He asked hesitantly.

"You passed; we'll continue training in the morning." She said blankly.

"Really!" The boy grinned.

"Hey, hey, don't get excited; just because you survived doesn't mean I'm impressed." Jasper quickly said. "Your fighting was sloppy, so we have a lot of work to do."

"Alright!" Steven cheered, quickly healing his wounds.

Frowning, Jasper tossed a small metal ball at him. "Get some sleep, Steven; we'll begin training in the morning."

"Sure." Steven received the ball when he realized. "Wait, you just called me by my name!"

"No, I didn't." Jasper said.

"Yes, you did!" Steven smiled. "Ha, after a whole week, you finally called me by my name! You're finally warming up to me."

"Don't get familiar, you little brat!" Jasper growled. "Now go to bed before you fucking piss me off!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Steven said with a start and threw the ball on the ground, amazed as it transformed into a large round tent! "Ooh!"

Jasper watched as the boy looked at the tent in delight and climbed in to see what was inside. She smiled softly at this, her expression falling as she realized what her plans would mean for him. Shaking her head away from those thoughts, she went back to work.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **And there you have it, Chapter 3!**

 **If you don't know Naruto lore, you don't have to really look up too much cuz we're only taking a small portion from the show and altering it slightly. For those who do like Naruto however, just know that we're not changing lore drastically; this book isn't going to dive too deeply into the show or use too many of its characters because we have planned to use that for another story.**

 **So, how do you like Pearl having Sharingan? It's honestly a ludicrous idea that didn't need to happen at all, but I goofed around while drawing a design for her and thought it'd be a fun addition. Why not do something purely for fun in a fanfiction anyway, right?**

 **Do you like how we portrayed Sasuke?**

 **And overall, how do you like the story so far? Is there anything you hate? Let us know!**

 **Check out our Deviantart or Tumblr for our character designs and follow so you don't miss future updates! Thanks for reading.**


	4. Imbalance

**IMBALANCE**

PEARL FROZE as the world opened up before her, her breath echoing in the realm as she walked through the forest. Everything around her shifted and reflected off each other as if shards of glass covered them. She opened her Sharingan, using her forehead gemstone like a third eye, and took a second look, seeing small particles of energy rising out of the plant life like binary code.

"Huh …"

"The human mind is fragile and its perception of reality is subjective." Sasuke materialized behind her, moving up to her. "Time, space, matter and many other things are entirely open for manipulation in the brain of a target with the use of the Sharingan."

"What is this place?" Pearl asked.

"This is a dimension I discovered during my travels a year ago called the 'Mirror Dimension'." Sasuke began. "This realm expands the human mind's perception in order to further the understanding of the Mystic Arts. And also, expanding the possibilities of what an illusion can do."

"So, this isn't real?" Pearl reached out and touched the air before her, causing it to shift and twist as if it was glass.

"Anything can be real in this realm if you will it with the power of your eyes." Sasuke turned to her. "The potency of your illusions lies in how well you can convince the victim that what they're experiencing is real. Even if they're strength is greater than yours in the real world, in here, the mind rules over all."

"So, you'll be teaching me how to use my Sharingan here?"

"No, we've completed our training for now." Sasuke walked onward.

"What? But, it's only been three months; that can't be all you know." Pearl insisted.

"Well, there's far more that I know, but then I'd be limiting your capabilities to my own." Sasuke explained. "This power is unique to each user and will take form in whatever way is specific to you. Now that you have fully awakened your power, it is yours to discover and use as you see fit."

"Uh, guys?" Gen's voice reverberated around them. "Can you hear me?"

"It seems our conversation has to end here." Sasuke said, vanishing.

Seeing Sasuke leave, Pearl looked at the realm around her one last time, wondering when she would return there. As she prepared to leave however, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention, making her turn and see an intense black shroud spreading over the sky in the distance. She squinted and tried to take a closer look when a force yanked her out from behind.

* * *

"WHAT THE?" Pearl gasped as she slid back into reality, blinking and finding herself seated on the ground in the forest. "Wh – I was just looking around for a little bit."

"You had taken an hour." Sasuke said, walking up to her. "Time varies greatly between realms, so you need to be careful."

Pearl squinted then looked to her left, seeing Gen seated across from her with a full beard. "Hey, Gen – wait, how long were we out?"

"A few months." Gen stood up, stretching his back. "Though I don't know how long it's actually been outside."

"Gen has managed to get us out of the temporal distortion." Sasuke looked onward and smiled. "We're finally free."

Raising her brow, Pearl scoped the area and realized what he was saying as the forest around them seemed normal again. Standing up, she looked down the slope and saw Oval Town in the distance as the sun rose, grinning with elation.

"Seems everything's remained intact while we were away." Gen walked up to Pearl. "Let's hope they didn't miss us too much."

"Oh, God, I can't thank you enough!" Pearl hugged Gen. "I'll never forget this."

Letting go of him, Pearl went down the slope and headed for the town, followed by Gen soon after. Sasuke, watching the two leave, wondered what to do next, whether to inform the others of what had happened to him. As he went over his options however, he froze in horror was he saw the Oval in the town square.

"It can't be …"

* * *

HOLDING HER hands together, Connie shut her eyes and focused on the space between them, holding her breath and closing the outside world from her mind. Parting her hands, the girl looked down and smiled in excitement as a ball of energy slowly sparked to life in her palms. "Whoa …"

"Connie?" Amethyst's voice came.

"What?" Connie turned to her, becoming distracted and causing the ball to dissipate. "Oh man."

"Ah, we finally found you; we were worried for a second there." Amethyst walked up to the girl who was sitting by the doorstep of Mira's clinic.

"You were gone for three days." Connie deadpanned.

"One day, three days; at least I found ya eventually." Amethyst shrugged.

"Hmm." Connie frowned and looked up ahead, seeing Ruby sitting on the sidewalk. "What's up with her?"

"Who, Ruby?" Amethyst turned to the red woman. "I don't know, she won't talk to me for some reason."

Ruby watched as people walked passed her down the street; many ignoring her while some made passing glances and others made curious comments. She sank back into her own mind as she sat by herself when a shadow cast over her, cutting her from her thoughts. Looking up, she frowned in anger when she realized it was Sapphire hovering over her.

"Sapphire?" Ruby rose up.

"Hey, Ruby." Sapphire landed before her, noticing her somber tone. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." The red woman pulled a smile.

"Well, we found the corrupted animals we were looking for, so it's over now. Let's go see the others, okay?" Sapphire took her hand, stopping as she noticed the bruises on them. "What happened? Was there another attack?"

"No, it's nothing." Ruby quickly took her hand away.

"Ruby, what's going on?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." Ruby said. "Come on, let's find the others." She walked on, leaving the blue woman concerned.

"Finally, we're back!" Pearl cried loudly, drawing people's attention to her as she entered the street. "I never wanna see that forest again!"

"Hey, it's not that bad." Gen pocketed his hands. "Except for having to fight a buncha tree monsters for weeks on end."

"Well, looks like everyone made it back in one piece." Lapis arrived with Peridot and Lion following her.

"Hey, you're back!" Connie ran up to the group, looking around curiously. "Is Steven with you?"

"No, we hadn't come across him." Sapphire replied, seeing the sadness on Connie's face.

Pearl raised her hand and summoned a small magic circle in her palm, seeing a small blinking light on its upper right side. "We may not have seen him, but he's still close by." She dismissed the light disc. "We can always come back for him after we find the warp pad."

Connie sighed and reluctantly nodded. "Alright."

"Gen, you've arrived!" Mira smiled as she stepped out of her clinic.

"Mira, how's everyone?" Gen walked up to his sister. "Did you find out anything about those creatures?"

"Yes, I surveyed the bodies countless times and it's just as I feared." Mira answered. "Someone corrupted the animals using Gaia Energy."

"But, who could've done this?" Sapphire asked.

"I don't know, but it has to have been someone very powerful given how deeply altered the physiology of the animals became." Mira turned to her.

"What the hell is happening here?!" Sasuke said as he ran into the street.

"Who's that guy?" Connie asked as she saw the man move passed.

"It's a long story." Pearl said simply.

"How did this happen?" Sasuke pointed at the Oval.

"What? The Oval? I dunno, our ancestors just found it." Gen shrugged.

"Ancestors? Oh, this is far worse than I thought." Sasuke frowned.

"Okay, who is this guy?" Amethyst raised her brow.

"I'll explain later." Pearl said.

"What's wrong? The Oval's been the lifeline of our town; we just use it for everyday things – we're not hurting anybody." Gen walked up to him.

"You don't understand; our planet is on the brink of collapse!" Sasuke said.

"How? It's just natural energy." Mira became confused.

"Gaia Energy is beneficial, but it'd damage the ecosystem if it's on the surface like this." Sasuke turned to the Oval. "It's supposed to be concentrated underground and close to the earth's core; like this, it could destroy everything. Plant life would mutate and disease would spread to both man and beast that aren't able to properly harness the energy." Mira became unnerved at this.

"Yeah, I think you're overreacting here, dude." Amethyst chuckled.

"Yeah, if it's so dangerous, then why has nothing happened yet? We've been completely fine this whole time." Gen said.

"Um, Gen, actually –," Mira tried to say.

"How did so much of this surface at once …?" Sasuke pondered.

Sasuke tried to think, reaching into his pocket for a scanner when the ground shook violently, sending a large crack through the earth that caught everyone's attention! A silence fell and tension rose in the air as the rumbling suddenly stopped, Sasuke looking to the Oval and seeing it start to shoot out sparks all around!

"Uh, is it supposed to do that?" Connie asked.

"No, something's wrong." Mira frowned.

"We need to evacuate the town, now." Sasuke drew out his sword.

"C'mon, how bad is a few sparks, really?" Amethyst scoffed.

The Oval began to contort and fizzle uncontrollably, shooting out a wave that knocked the townspeople around it off their feet! The sparks spurting out of it grew larger and dug into the ground, breaking it apart and destroying nearby buildings! Twisting and turning violently, the Oval transformed into a cluster of energy vines that shot through the air and lashed down on the town, laying havoc to everything around it!

"Okay, we're fucked again." Amethyst conjured her whips.

* * *

"HOW MUCH power do you have?" Jasper asked Steven as the two looked out into the valley from the mountaintop.

"Uh, what?"

"What's your total power output?" She asked again.

"Um, I thought you already found out when I fought your clone." Steven said. "It's not that much, I guess."

"That was just against me; I can endure a lot." She said. "I want to see how much destructive potential you have."

"Well, I don't know how to do that exactly."

"Hmm." Jasper cocked her neck. "Try and punch a hole that mountain over there." She pointed to her right.

Looking at the orange woman nervously, Steven went over to the nearby mountain in question and took a stance before it. He tried to think of how he would destroy it exactly as she would most likely want it done in a single shot. From all his feats, he had acted on instinct, never consciously drawing on his power. He had to focus.

Deciding to go the simple route, the boy clenched his fist and planted his feet into the ground, pouring as much energy into his arm as he could and he punched the mountain, blowing a massive hole in it ten times his size! He smiled as he looked at his handiwork, turning to Jasper. "How was that?"

Jasper looked at the hole in the mountain, not saying a word and cocked her neck, drawing her out her right arm and clenching her fist. Steven raised her brow as she did this and the woman punched the air before her, causing a shockwave that knocked the boy off his feet and blew the mountain into pieces! Pushing himself up, the boy looked at the falling rocks as the mountain collapsed!

"H-how?" His jaw dropped. "You didn't even touch it!"

"True strength and the ability to destroy anything comes from knowing how to destroy the atoms within." Jasper began. "Objects are only as strong as the bonds of their atomic structure and if you can break that, you can break anything. That is the true power of a Gem."

"But, I thought controlling light was the true power of a Gem." Steven questioned. "All the Crystal Gems make weapons using light, so –,"

"Controlling light is exactly the same." Jasper said. "If you can manipulate light particles or atoms of any kind, you'll be able to gain far more power than you can ever imagine!" Steven considered this.

* * *

"WHAT'S HAPPENING to the Oval?" Connie cried as people fled the streets around them.

"This's what happens when Gaia Energy gets to the surface." Sasuke said. "If such large amounts are drawn out of the earth's core, it loses control and destroys everything around it!"

"No, this can't be right!" Mira argued. "We've been living in this town for centuries and it's never reacted like this; someone or something must be causing this to happen."

"Whatever's happening, we need to stop this now before anyone gets hurt." Pearl said.

"I can only stop this if we get everyone out of here!" Sasuke said, quickly jumping back as the ground before him burst open and an Oval tendril shot out at him. "Amaterasu!" He opened his Mangekyo Sharingan eye, causing the energy to burst into black flames that caused it to dissipate instantly!

"Whoa." Pearl said in amazement.

"Split up and get everyone out of the town before we have any casualties." Sasuke ordered, turning to Pearl. "Use your eyes and figure out where the vines will pop up from before they do."

"Right." Pearl nodded, awakening her Sharingan.

"We need to move quickly." Sasuke said to the others. "Get going!"

Looking at the ground, Pearl searched for the energy all around, seeing spots of red energy that glimmered all over the town beneath the earth's surface. Linking her mind with the others, the Gem sent out what she saw and drew out her katana, rushing onwards.

* * *

AMETHYST SHUT her eyes as she received the transmissions from Pearl, seeing the red zones appearing throughout the town through her mind's eye. Entering a street, the purple gem drew out her whips and lassoed two energy vines that sprouted and sprung toward two women at a store. She pulled them back, allowing the women to escape, and yanked them further out of the ground, wrapping them around a lamppost.

She stopped to catch her breath, surprised by how strong the vines were when she saw the lamppost bend and break in half! She tensed up and tried to think of what to do next when another energy tube burst out and stabbed her in the back and through her stomach! Spitting out blood, the Gem struggled as the spout hoisted her in the air and began to rip her in half, nearly reaching her gem crystal.

Fighting the pain, Amethyst grabbed the vine and tore herself away from it, splitting her body in half and letting herself crash downwards! Wrapping herself with her whip in midair, the Gem shape-shifted into a gorilla and landed beside the tube, grabbing it and pulling it further out of the ground. Giving her all, Amethyst held the energy vine with one arm and cut it down with the other, causing it to dissipate instantly!

"Shit." Amethyst huffed and returned to her normal form, falling back on the sidewalk. "Thought tentacles would be more fun."

* * *

WEAVING HIS arms around, Gen manipulated three energy vines before him and directed them back into the ground, allowing people to safely escape the street. He wiped sweat from his brow and turned to see a bolt of lightning blast past him and blow up a store nearby! He turned and saw Sasuke rushing towards him, frowning angrily. "What're you doing?!" Gen yelled.

"A Gaia tube was emerging from the ground and I stopped it." Sasuke said. "How's the evacuation going?"

"We're moving as fast as we can." Gen said.

"You'll need to be faster – I don't know if I can stop this if it spreads any further."

A loud crash came from their right, drawing their attention to two large tubes that smashed through a building and chased people through a street. Gen and Sasuke rushed towards the scene when two large sheets of steel burst from the earth and blocked the energy vines. Panting heavily, Peridot arrived on the scene, hovering above the people below as she directed the metal.

"Why didn't you do that when that bear attacked you?" Lapis asked as she flew past her.

"Hey, it scared me, alright!" Peridot snapped at her. "Now take care of those things already; I can't hold 'em for long."

Chuckling, Lapis landed atop the metal wall and threw up three hand seals, creating alchemic magical light discs that wrapped around the energy vines. Spreading her hands out, the blue woman ripped the energy tubes apart, turning them into balls of light that shrank and burst into particles that slowly vanished.

"Ooh, pretty." Peridot smiled.

"Now's not the time to gawk." Lapis turned to her. "We need to get these people out of here."

"Hmmph, you don't have to be such a hard ass all the time." Peridot pouted and flew off, directing the people out of the town.

Smiling slightly, Lapis left, not noticing Pearl who quickly dashed into the street, dragging a spear across the earth and cutting through the asphalt. Twirling the weapon, the pale woman created a light mandala shield and blocked a tube of energy as it burst through the ground! She struggled against the force as it began to push her back and quickly summoned seven ethereal clones that held onto the vine.

Pinning the energy down, Pearl sent her clones into the earth, dragging the energy along with it, and chucked the spear into the ground, destabilizing the tube and causing it to disintegrate. The pale woman huffed and looked around when she saw more energy rising beneath Ruby. "Ruby, look out!" She cried.

Hearing Pearl's cries, Ruby quickly jumped back and saw a massive tendril shoot out and crash onto a nearby bar. Channeling heat through her arms, the red woman fired a massive wave of fire onto the tendril, wrapping around it and pulling it back. She smiled as she directed the tube towards the earth when it sudden released a wave that instantly blew out the flames and knocked her off her feet!

The energy contorted and sped towards Ruby, too quickly for her to react, when Connie rushed in between them and blocked it with her sword. "You alright?" The girl asked.

"Connie!" Ruby breathed in surprise.

"You need to be more careful next time." Connie said and deflected the energy, spinning around and slashing at the air before her, cutting the tendril in half and causing it to dissipate. The energy however shifted and flew into her sword, getting absorbed into the weapon! "Whoa!" She jerked back in surprise, seeing a series of magical engravings light up along the length of the blade.

Ruby breathed heavily as she began to realize how weak she had become, clenching her fists in rage when Sapphire flew into the area. "We've evacuated the town." The blue woman said, turning to Sasuke. "Whatever you were going to do, you need to do it now!"

"Alright, meet me on the town's outskirts." Sasuke said, disappearing.

With that, Pearl, Sapphire and the others quickly left, not noticing the Oval beginning to spark more violently.

* * *

APPEARING AMONGST the people who stood outside the town, Sasuke reached for a scroll in his cloak and looked behind him to make sure everyone was at a safe distance. "What were you planning to do?" Mira came up to him.

"I'll harness a spell that'll send the Oval elsewhere." Sasuke said. "If my associates can study it, we may find a solution for all the energy that's risen in other locations on earth."

"Uh, what if the Oval isn't an oval anymore?" Amethyst pointed at the town.

Sasuke turned to the town, feeling the earth trembling as the Oval had now disintegrated and started spreading through the town, demolishing and absorbing everything in its path. "No …" Mira looked on in disbelief.

"I have to destroy the town; there's no other option." Sasuke put his scroll away.

"Wait, no, you can't do that; the town's their home." Pearl interjected.

"If we don't destroy the town, then the energy will keep spreading and will destroy everything." Sasuke turned to her. "All we can do is slow down the inevitable, but in this state, even that will be impossible."

Gen watched as the Oval slowly devoured his home, looking back at the people behind him who were distraught as this happened. Sifting his mind, he went up to Sasuke. "Do it, destroy the town."

"You can't be serious." Pearl frowned.

"The Oval's already destroyed most of the town by now." Gen said. "There'll be no stopping it if it goes any further."

Nodding to the white man, Sasuke turned to the town, threw up a hand sign, and thrust his arm forward, activating his purple Rinnegan eye. "Chibaku-Tensei!"

Connie froze as the earth shook beneath her feet, gasping as she saw her hair lift and the leaves on the ground levitate into the air. The ground beneath Oval Town slowly broke apart and flew toward where the Oval used to be – trees and buildings alike getting sucked toward the energy source like a vacuum! The town collapsed into itself and transformed into a gigantic round mass of earth, flying upward and blocking out the morning sun!

Clenching his fist, Sasuke caused the earth ball to crumble and implode, turning into a small black hole that swallowed part of the forest! He opened his hand and closed his Rinnegan, causing the black hole to disappear, and turned to the people behind him. "It's over."

"Well, what do we do now?" Amethyst asked. "Where do these people go?"

"I'll help them relocate." Sasuke said, walking towards Gen. "A short distance from here lies the Breakfast Kingdom; they should have enough space there until we figure out something better."

"I know that place." Gen said. "I hope the king won't be too upset about this."

"In that case, well help you get there." Pearl chimed in.

"But, what about finding the warp pad; we can't keep detouring like this." Sapphire said.

"It won't take that long." Pearl shrugged. "Once we're done helping Gen, we can go."

"You mean helping the people of Oval Town, right?" Ruby corrected.

"Them too." Pearl glanced around, walking onward. "Come on, we don't have time to lose."

Sharing an unconvinced look with Sapphire, Ruby followed Pearl as she, Sasuke and Gen led the townspeople down the dirt road just outside the forest. Shifting through the bushes however were two tall figures who watched as they left, looking closely at the Crystal Gems.

"So, they're gems, huh?" One of them said.

"They must've been the ones who killed our pets." The other frowned. "We'll have to deal with them quickly."

* * *

JASPER SQUINTED her eyes as she walked through the vast field filled with hundreds of floating light weapons, moving up to a large sword and poking it, causing it to spark violently. "Could you not do that please, I'm having a hard time maintaining them as is." Steven panted as he held his arms apart and conjured more weapons.

"It's not enough to just conjure up weapons, they also need to be durable." Jasper said. "In order to know how to destroy any atomic structure, you'll need to know how to build them as well."

"Well, I've been doing this for three days straight, so they're not gonna be as strong after a while." Steven retorted, grunting as his energy started to short out. "Could I take a break already?"

"Hmm, I don't know." Jasper stroked her chin.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Steven yelled.

Chuckling, Jasper punched a light cannon to her right, shattering all the weapons instantly. "We can continue this tomorrow." She walked on, letting the boy fall back in a heap. "You've got some spunk kid, why're you always so timid?"

"Well, I don't like cursing a lot." Steven panted. "You can thank Pearl for that."

"Well, pearls have always been the timid type." Jasper said, typing on her gauntlet. "Timid, submissive and shy, the whole lot of 'em."

Moving up to the time barrier that stood around them, the orange woman raised her hand and ran it along the force field, causing ripples that spread outward. "You know, I've had a strange feeling since we've started training." Steven began. "There's a vibe I'm getting from you."

"A vibe? That's probably fear." Jasper shrugged. "Few people don't find me intimidating; it's understandable."

"No, it's different …" Steven squinted. "It's something about your energy; it's like I've felt it before."

"Now, what did I say about getting familiar?" Jasper frowned.

"No, seriously, I feel like I've felt your energy signature before." Steven stood up. "I think I know you."

"Hmmph, now what could you know about me, kid?" Jasper scoffed, creating a small light disc in her hand as she scanned the time barrier.

"And the way your powers work." Steven looked at the light mandala in her hand. "I know that symbol; it's Rose's."

Jasper froze upon hearing this, clenching her fist in anger. "Okay, Steven, time for you to go to bed."

"I'm right, aren't I." Steven said. "I know why you seem so familiar to me." He walked up to Jasper. "You're Rose's sister."

* * *

 **Welcome to the Universe!**

 **Took a break for about a month for the holidays and we're back with more chapters. Hope you enjoyed!**

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	5. Shadows

**SHADOWS**

LIGHT PARTICLES wafted off the Oval as it glowed brightly throughout the night sky, sprinkling down gently on those around it. A much younger Mira stood beside her mother as she gazed upon the energy with glee, looking around and seeing people getting healed as the light touched them while others simply meditated and took in its presence.

Looking to her left, she saw the woman who had controlled the Oval in such a way, a tall graceful woman with pink hair and a white dress littered with flowers. She had a gentle presence about her, having warmth that was somewhat similar to the Gaia energy itself.

"Do you think I can be like her one day, mother?" Mira asked. "Do you think I can help people?"

"Of course, you can!" The woman knelt to her level. "Your heart is pure and one day, the Oval will open up to you as it has for her."

Mira's eyes widened in awe as she heard this, turning to the pink woman who dwelled among the people and healed them one after another. Determination grew within her, she knew she'd help her people one day; she would not let them down.

* * *

MIRA LOOKED at the people around her as she walked with them, seeing the panic and distraught on their faces as they were now forced out of the town. Their businesses, their homes, everything was taken away from them in the blink of an eye. If only the pink woman hadn't stopped coming long ago, maybe she could've stopped this calamity from happening.

Gen sunk towards the back of the travelling group and followed quietly behind Amethyst, Connie and the rest of the townspeople, hearing them speaking to each other. Fear and confusion filled their tone, but among them were those who were bitter, those that lamented his leadership and were maddened by what happened. He pocketed his hands and began to sink further into his mind, their words echoing in his thoughts.

"Hey, there." Pearl's voice cut through his contemplations as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Why're you all the way back here? You should be up ahead with me – I mean us, heh." She rubbed her neck.

"When my mother was alive, she always told us to not to mind what people said about us and trust our instincts, that one way or another, we'd do the right thing." Gen said, lowering his head. "But it's hard not to listen when they're all correct."

"What do you mean?" Pearl asked, walking beside him.

"You can hear them; they blame me for what happened." Gen said. "My father would've known better and prepared for this type of thing. He'd be disappointed."

Pearl tried to speak, but hesitated, seeing Gen's grief in his eyes. "Many years ago when I joined the Crystal Gems, our leader Rose sent me on a mission to lead a small team to save a town in Afrisia that Home World soldiers had invaded." She began. "It was the first mission I'd ever led and I got lost several times on the way and ended up getting there days behind schedule. We ran out of rations, I messed up the plans and by the time we got there, I'd all but forgotten the plan for the rescue. But we went in anyway and we saved the townspeople just in time as Home World planned to wipe them out." She turned to him, seeing that she was starting to lose him. "My point is that I didn't give up when it seemed things were backfiring; I kept going."

"I know how tough it can be to lead – Rose is now gone and I'm leading the Crystal Gems now." Pearl put a hand on Gen's shoulder. "You're what your people need the most right now, even if it doesn't seem like it."

Gen smiled. "Thanks."

"Now, c'mon, the others are waiting for us." Pearl took his hand when a loud explosion came from the front of the group! "What the –,"

Pearl froze as a deep purple aura spread around the travellers, forming a dome that surrounded them completely! Sasuke, who summoned the shield with his Mangekyo Sharingan, reached for his blade and stepped back as a massive figure stood in the smoke cloud that resulted from the explosion. "What kind of creature is this?" The man frowned.

Rising from the haze came a massive, towering hedgehog-like beast with three arms made of fire and brimstone! The monster roared wildly, causing the birds in the forest to flee, and following its call came several smaller wolf and snake-like creatures that encircled the travellers! Lapis, Peridot, Lion, Sapphire, Ruby, Amethyst, Connie, Pearl and Gen readied themselves as they were surrounded, drawing their weapons and preparing for anything.

"Great, these bitches again." Amethyst growled.

"What do they want with us?" Connie clasped her sword tightly.

"Well, well, who knew Home World was still following us?" A female voice came.

Pearl squinted and looked behind her, seeing two tall women, both green, who walked toward them. "What is this ...?"

"Guess us Crystal Gems can't catch a break, huh?" The shorter green woman said with a grin. "Let's send these Diamond-loving bitches to hell!"

"Impossible!" Sapphire froze in horror. "You should be dead!"

"What?" The shorter woman blinked.

"Jadeite, Prasiolite, b-but how?" Amethyst dropped her whips.

"Uh, who're they?" Connie asked.

"They're two of Rose's Four Generals!" Pearl stuttered. "They're the Head Sisters of the Crystal Gems!"

* * *

"I HAVE an aunt? I have an aunt!" Steven said in disbelief.

"Alright, Steven, now slow down." Jasper frowned.

"I have an aunt!" Steven laughed. "Wait? Do I have an uncle? Was it that guy from earlier?"

"Stop it, Steven." Jasper became angry.

"Do I have cousins?" Steven looked around. "I bet they're not as handsome." He stroked his chin.

"I said stop it, Steven."

"Y'know, you like saying my name a lot." Steven put his hands on his hips.

Jasper frowned, muttering. "Your mother always knew how to pick cute names."

"Aw." Steven held his cheeks mockingly, getting a glare from her and he quickly froze. "Okay, I'll stop, sorry."

"Okay, so what? I'm your maternal parent's sibling, ya happy, you little shit." Jasper walked off.

"I can't believe it – this's awesome!" Steven smiled, but it died quickly. "But, why haven't the Crystal Gems ever mentioned you before? And why'd you stay on Home World when they left?"

Jasper clenched her fists in anger. "You don't want to pry any further, Steven."

"What happened? Was it bad? I'm sure the Crystal Gems would love to have you come aboard if they knew who you were." Steven said.

"Rose betrayed me and abandoned me on Home World when we planned our escape!" Jasper turned to him.

"What, no, n … mom would never do that." Steven argued.

"You don't know her like I do." Jasper growled. "I can sense her close by and when I find her, I'll have my revenge on her."

Steven froze. "Mom is alive?"

* * *

"JADEITE, IS that you?" Amethyst said in disbelief, walking toward her slowly. "It's been so long …"

"Prasiolite!" Ruby rushed towards her with a grin, moving past Lapis.

"Something's not right here." The blue woman frowned.

"Ruby, stop!" Sapphire yelled. "That's not them!"

"What? But, they're standing right here." Ruby turned to her. "I can sense their energy and everything."

"No, Sapphire's right, something's wrong." Pearl said, activating her Sharingan.

"What're you talking about?" Ruby asked.

"Think about it." Sapphire began. "We saw them die at the hands of Pink Diamond on the battlefield, how are they alive?"

"Maybe they healed and they've been looking for us." Ruby said.

"Look around us, Ruby, does this look like a family reunion to you." Lapis gestured to the creatures surrounding them.

"I saw Prasiolite get shattered in front of me." Sapphire frowned. "They died, Ruby."

"Well, then they must've been brought back somehow." Ruby looked to the others. "Right?"

"That's what I'm worried about." Ruby looked at the two Gems' pallid skin and sunken white eyes. "Whatever brought them back is using their corpses as puppets; that's not them."

"I don't know what nonsense you Home World scum are blathering on about, but we're here to make sure you don't interfere in our plans." Prasiolite said.

"You killed our pets, so we should return the favor by letting them have a snack." Jadeite gave a wicked grin. "They've been hungry."

Jadeite snapped her fingers, causing the monsters to charge at them from all sides!

The fire hedgehog pounced on the aura shield and Sasuke fired a lightning bolt at the beast, pushing it back and throwing up hand signs with his one hand. Thrusting his arm to the ground, he caused the barrier to contort and shift, forming a gigantic ethereal humanoid ribcage that spread around and strengthened it. Drawing his sword, the Shinobi dashed towards the beast.

The Crystal Gems spread out and intercepted the monsters as they tried to get to the magical aura, protecting the citizens inside. "How're these guys back from the dead?" Peridot asked as she hovered past Sapphire on a metallic plate.

"I don't know, but whoever did this must've used some incredibly dark power." Sapphire flew into the air and fired upon the monsters below.

"It's not just any power!" Mira said. "It's Gaia Energy, I can detect it from them too!"

"So, whoever transformed these creatures also brought these two back to life?" Gen pieced it together, firing on a corrupted toad with his rifle.

"Oh, now this bastard's starting to piss me off!" Amethyst summoned her whips and lassoed two corrupted bears, channeling fire through them and burning them to ashes.

"We need to take them down." Pearl said. "This is no way to live."

"You seem sure about yourself, don't you?" Jadeite appeared before her, punching her down and dragging her through the earth. "I've waited for this day for so long." She grinned. "I'll make you Home World scum pay for what you did to our comrades!"

"We are your comrades!" Pearl yelled. "Who did this to you?!"

"Ha, as if I'd fall for Home World's trickery!" Jadeite charged energy through her arm, moving to stab her!

Pearl kicked the green woman off her and rolled to her feet. "Sapphire was right, this isn't you." She summoned her katana. "Forgive me for this, General Jadeite."

Jadeite scoffed and fired an energy ball at Pearl, completely missing as the pale woman sidestepped and let the sphere crash against the earth and absorb part of the ground into it like a vacuum! The two women exchanged rapid attacks as their fight ensued, Pearl deftly wielding her katana and Jadeite swinging with her arms coated in her energy.

Kicking Jadeite's arm aside, Pearl rushed in to stab the Gem only for the green woman to open a portal between them and redirect the blade back at her, causing her to stab herself in the shoulder! Pearl fell to the ground and clasped her shoulder in pain, leaving herself open to Jadeite who summoned another energy ball.

"Home World's soldiers sure have dropped in their caliber since you last attacked." Jadeite chuckled. "There's no way you'd get past my portals being so slow."

"Oh, don't think I forgot you, Jadeite." Pearl smirked as her eyes glowed red.

"What the –," Jadeite raised her brow when she felt something stab her in the back.

Jadeite coughed out blood and realized she'd been stabbed, raising her brow as Pearl disappeared before her. "I studied and looked up to you for years." Pearl appeared behind the Gem, driving her sword deeper into her chest. "Your tact and deception was unmatched, but things are different now."

Four Pearls appeared around Jadeite and stabbed her as well, skewering her from all sides. "You're not as good as you used to be and I've grown stronger." A clone frowned.

Jadeite grunted and teleported out of the way, appearing a few feet up ahead and closing her wound. "You bastard!"

Pearl scoffed and dismissed her clones, walking up to her. "What did you say about me being sure of myself again?"

Elsewhere, Connie cut down two beasts and quickly blocked a corrupted jackal that came charging at her, pushing her back and pinning her against Sasuke's barrier! She grunted and looked back, seeing children backing away in fear as more creatures rushed toward her. Digging deep, Connie pushed back the monster with a swift slash of her blade, sending out a shockwave that knocked the monster's back.

The girl raised her brow in surprise and looked at her blade, seeing magical symbols come alight along the weapon. "Cool."

She jerked back as a loud crack of thunder drew her attention to Sasuke who clashed with the flaming hedgehog monster, drawing the attention of the other beasts around him. Looking around quickly, Sasuke quickly found himself surrounded, pushing back the hedgehog beast and stabbing his blade into its chest! The monster writhed in pain and Sasuke jumped on the blade and sprung off it, launching himself into the air.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" The man yelled as he threw up hand signs and summoned four clones beside him. Charging balls of electricity in their hands, the four Sasukes dove to the ground, targeting multiple monsters at once. "Chidori!"

Sasuke thrust his palm onto his sword hilt, channeling the electricity into the blade and blasting the monster with his energy, blowing it apart instantly! The clones did the same as well, driving their energy into four monsters around them, ricocheting the blasts to other creatures and killing multiple at once! Drawing his sword out of the corpse, Sasuke and his doppelgangers spread out to deal with the remaining creatures, leaving the people behind the aura shield.

Inside the barrier, Mira watched the battle, seeing her brother fighting a corrupted bull and worrying for his safety.

* * *

"WAIT, WAIT, mom is alive? Where is she?" Steven asked.

"I've been looking for her at her temples for a few months now and I believe I'm getting closer, but no, I haven't found her yet." Jasper explained, moving up to the barrier. "Now go to bed, kid, we've got more training tomorrow."

"Hold on, what did you mean by mom betraying you?"

Jasper stopped and sighed. "Your mother and I were lieutenants under Pink Diamond before we decided to rebel and formed the Crystal Gems. She gathered her forces and I covered for her, smuggling weaponry and aiding her anyway I could." She frowned. "But when the time came for us to get to our base off-world for good, she betrayed me and left me to be killed by Home World when they discovered our plans!"

"No, no there has to be a mistake." Steven sifted his mind. "Mom would never do such a thing."

"She is a lying snake!" Jasper turned to him. "If I hadn't fought my way through the Jaspers sent to eliminate me, I'd be dead! When I find her, I'll make sure she feels the pain I've felt as I send her to her grave!"

"You can't be serious, there has to be some misunderstanding." Steven insisted. "Why don't you just talk it over or –,"

"We're long past talk." Jasper walked off. "I've tried finding her for decades and she's avoided me at every turn. She's beyond redemption; she deserves to die."

"No, I won't let you do this." Steven halted her.

"What was that?"

"I won't let you hurt my mom; she's your sister – you don't hurt family." Steven frowned.

Jasper slowly turned to him, her aura steadily exuding from her body. "I better have misheard you, kid."

"If you want you kill her, you'll have to go through me." Steven summoned his shield, infuriating Jasper.

* * *

PRASIOLITE SLAPPED her hands together and thrust her palm into the earth, causing rocks to burst out around her and speed toward Amethyst, Ruby, Sapphire and Lion! Weaving through the onslaught, Sapphire flew up to Prasiolite and fired a volley of ice daggers at her. The green gem reacted quickly and erected a wall of earth to block the attack when the ice seeped through and transformed the rock into massive frost spikes that caved in towards her.

Prasiolite rolled out of the way and Amethyst kicked her down, wrapping her with her whips and setting her ablaze. The green Gem growled as the fire washed over her, ripping the ropes apart and smashing her fist against the earth, stabbing Amethyst in the chest and hoisting her in the air. Ruby summoned her gauntlets and rushed up to Prasiolite at high speed with her electricity, knocking Prasiolite with a fiery punch!

Rolling to her feet, the green Gem sent a volley of rocks at Ruby, coating her in earth and burying her into the ground! She moved in for the kill when Lion roared at her, pushing her down with a barrage of sound waves. "Rose's pet, what're you doing with these wretched scum?!" Prasiolite frowned.

Lion became enraged at this, teleporting up to the Gem and clawing her chest, dragging her through the ground. Sapphire descended and manacled her to the ground with ice. "It's over, Prasiolite." She summoned a sword made of ice.

Amethyst broke the earth spike that stabbed through her, closing her wound as she descended to the earth. "There's nowhere to run."

"You won't get away with this! The Crystal Gems will free those you've enslaved!" Prasiolite cried.

"Pearl, how're we doing with those animals they brought along with them?" Sapphire asked telepathically.

"We're close to eradicating them and I'm about to take out Jadeite." Pearl said on the other side.

"Good, let's put them down and get out of here before nightfall – we don't want to camp near the forest with this many people." Sapphire said.

Prasiolite growled, realizing that she had nowhere to go, and she ran her arm across the earth, drawing Gaia Energy from it. Sapphire wielded her ice blade, moving to kill Prasiolite when the ground beneath her turned to sand, trapping her instantly! She rose to her feet and created binds made of rock, binding Ruby and Amethyst!

"We are the Crystal Gems' greatest warriors!" Prasiolite proclaimed. "Underestimating us will be your death!"

Prasiolite looked around, seeing Sasuke's barrier and sent a large crack through the ground toward it. Gen saw this and tried to stop it when a wolf pounced on him, knocking him down. "Mira, hang on!"

Sasuke noticed this and turned around, only to see the shield getting destroyed, exposing the people inside! "The barrier!" He tried to close the tear, but Prasiolite sent him into the earth!

Mira backed up as four monsters gathered around the opening, eyeing the townspeople who stood defenseless! Gen blasted the wolf that held him down with his rifle, trying to get to the aura shield when the monster clawed his leg, tearing at his flesh! Fighting the pain, the man knocked the animal off him and fired at it with more power, blowing it to pieces and limped toward the people getting surrounded.

"Stay behind me!" Mira ordered as the creatures entered the barrier, surrounding them.

Mira looked around, wondering what to do next when the creatures charged at her, too quickly for her to react! A jaguar clawed at Mira when a blade suddenly slashed it in half, revealing Connie who'd arrived just in time! Kicking the carcass away, Connie stood in front of the group, eyeing the remaining five monsters that remained. "Don't worry, I'll hold them off; you need to get outta here!"

"We can't, they're all around us!" Mira said.

"Then stay back!" Connie said, running toward the monsters up ahead and drawing out her scabbard.

Connie ran up to a mutated baboon and quickly used her scabbard to block it as it swung at her, spinning around and stabbing it in the chest! Knocking the monster aside, the girl drew out a bow and fired at two beasts that came at her from both sides, pulling her sword out of the baboon and beheading it! Mira watched in awe as Connie dispatched the creatures with ease, not noticing a creature coming at them from her right!

"Howard, look out!" Mira heard a woman cry, turning to her right and seeing a gigantic bat leap onto him!

The old man failed to react in time, forcing Mira to push him out of the way and getting stabbed in her side as the bat sprayed its spikes around! The creature screeched and came down upon her, knocking her down and driving its fangs into her shoulder, drawing out a bloodcurdling cry! Connie heard this and turned to find the woman being devoured by the monster!

"Get away from her!" The girl yelled, coating her arms in Gaia Energy!

Dropping her weapons, Connie clenched her fist and punched the air before her, sending out a powerful wave that cut through the monsters around her! Not realizing what she'd done, the girl ran up to Mira's side and held her up, seeing her chest drenched in blood as her shoulder was ripped apart!

"Mira, hang on!" Connie tore a piece of her jacket and held it over her wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Heh, I guess I was right about you." Mira wheezed, seeing the energy on the girl's arms as it fizzled away.

"Don't try to talk; I can get you out of here."

Mira chuckled weakly. "It's too late." She moved her arm aside, revealing the spike that'd dug into her ribs.

"Mira?" Gen saw this as he staggered toward the two.

"No, no, how do I stop this? Teach me how to heal you." Connie started to panic.

Mira smiled wistfully and placed her hand on the girl's cheek. "Your much more gifted than I thought you were and much kinder too. Don't let that power be used in anger." She coughed out blood.

"Mira, please, tell me what to do!"

"Make sure my brother and the others get to the kingdom in time." Mira said, falling limp in Connie's arms.

"Mira? Mira!" Connie shook the woman, getting no response from her.

Gen quickly ran up to the two and looked down at her sister, his eyes wide in horror. "She … she's dead …"

Tears streamed down Connie's face and she held Mira tightly, Gen looking around and not knowing what to do. "Gen …" Pearl saw this nearby.

Prasiolite looked at them from afar and cackled, moving up to Ruby who was bound nearby. "These humans deserve death if they chose to side with Home World."

"You're going to pay for that!" Ruby growled.

"Silence, filth!" Prasiolite clenched her fist, tightening the rocks around the red woman. "I'll exterminate you and the rest of your kind for getting in our way!"

Prasiolite tightened her grip on Ruby, suffocating her when the earth shook violently, breaking apart and knocking her off her feet! The green Gem rolled to a stop and looked up in surprise as powerful winds swept the valley and storm clouds gathered in the sky! Rising out of the earth and blanketing everything in snow, Sapphire hovered toward Prasiolite blazing in an immense white aura!

"Get away from her!" She spoke in an ethereal voice.

"How is this possible? How can one of Them be here?" Prasiolite backed away from the blue woman.

Sapphire raised her arm, summoning a mountain-sized glacier out of the ground, ripping the forest behind her apart! A portal opened behind Prasiolite and Jadeite grabbed her arm. "We need to get out of here! We can't win this by ourselves!" The woman cried, getting a nod from the other Gem and disappearing with her!

Prasiolite's binds shattered as she vanished, freeing Lion, Ruby, Sasuke and Amethyst who fell to the ground. "What the hell?" Amethyst looked around as snow covered everything.

"Sapphire …?" Ruby breathed in shock, drawing the attention of the blue woman.

* * *

STEVEN PULLED himself to his feet and coughed out blood, barely able to stand as wounds littered his body. He looked onward at Jasper who walked toward him with her energy blazing throughout the mountain, drawing on the last of his strength and creating another shield.

"You're too weak, kid; even if you weren't drained from all your training, you'd never be able to put up a fight against me." She said. "Stand down while you still have a chance."

"I won't … let you hurt my mother." He panted.

"You don't know what her betrayal cost me! You don't know the friends I've lost because of her!" Jasper yelled.

"I don't care; I won't let you lay a hand on her!"

Steven lunged at Jasper and threw his shield at her, getting blown away as the orange woman smashed the weapon with a single punch and knocked him back in the resultant shockwave! Steven crashed to the ground and tried to stand up again, grunting in pain as his arm was broken. He turned around only to receive a swift boot to the chest as Jasper pinned him down!

"Why won't you stay down?" Jasper raised her arm, channeling energy through it!

"Because we're family." He panted. "And I won't let you become a monster because of revenge."

Jasper's expression fell as she heard this, looking down and seeing her nephew covered in blood beneath her. She dismissed her aura and she stepped off him, walking off. "Our training is over." She keyed in commands on her gauntlet, putting down the time barrier and revealing Helio on the other side.

"What happened here?" Helio stood up as he saw Steven on the ground.

"Nothing, let's go." Jasper walked past him, leaving him confused.

Steven grunted as he pushed himself up, seeing the two gems leaving the mountain up ahead. Creating a bubble around him, the boy started to heal and dragged himself to the edge of the mountain, wondering what to do next. He held his stomach in pain as he sifted through his mind when he saw several trees in the distance collapsing one after another. "What the …"

* * *

"WHAT KIND of power is this?" Pearl backed up as snow started to fall around Sapphire.

"Her energy's insane!" Amethyst's mouth fell agape.

"I've felt power of this magnitude before." Sasuke walked toward Sapphire. "She's no mortal."

Sapphire realized she'd drawn everyone's attention, descending to the earth and seeing Ruby look at her in confusion. "Sapphire, what're they talking about?"

Sapphire tried to think, unsure of what to say. "You can't keep lying to them, Sapphire." Lapis said. "It's time to tell the truth."

"What lie? What's going on here?" Pearl asked.

Sapphire looked at Ruby and sighed, dismissing her aura and clearing up the sky above. "I'm sorry."

The blue woman raised her right hand and clenched it, shattering her gemstone, letting the pieces fall to the ground. "Sapphire, what're you doing!?" Ruby yelled, stunned as nothing happened to her.

"I've lied to you all for too long. I'm not a Gem." Sapphire said. "… I'm a Diamond."

* * *

 ***Response to GodOutsideOfAll* :- We're currently have a lot of books in the works, some of which have yet to be posted, so we can't write the book you requested right now. If we have an opportunity in future, we may, but we can't make any promises.**

 **Thanks for reading! Be sure to leave a comment if you have any questions or there was anything you liked or hated and check out our Tumblr or Deviantart for our character designs!**


	6. The Past

**THE PAST**

VOICES MUTTERED, chattered and screamed violently over each other in Ruby's mind, her breath quickening as Sapphire stood in the snow that slowly faded away. "What?"

"What're you talking about here? You better be joking or hit your head or something." Amethyst said.

"No, it's true, I'm a Diamond." Sapphire's gaze lowered.

"But, how?" Pearl said in shock.

"She's Blue Diamond's daughter." Lapis explained. "She hid her away for a very long time and I was one of the very few in Home World that knew this."

"No, it's not true." Ruby said, her head slowly shaking. "It's not true."

"It is, Ruby, I'm sorry." Sapphire said.

"You're lying!" Ruby screamed.

"Ruby." Pearl turned to her.

"It can't –," Ruby cut herself off, breathing heavily. "You're one of us, y-you're not them."

"Blue Diamond is my mother … I should have told you sooner."

 _"You see, you're nothing! Even to her!" The voices yelled in Ruby's head._

"How could you do this to us!?" Ruby growled.

"Ruby, I think you need to calm down." Pearl moved up to her.

"How could you lie to all of us!? We spent centuries fighting those pieces of shit and here you've being one of them this whole time!"

"Ruby, try and hear her out first." Amethyst said.

"You had the power to save so many of our friends during the war, but you held back and for what? Just to keep up a façade!" Ruby took it all in. "No, no, tell me this's some kind of sick joke, you have to be lying."

Sapphire looked to the red woman and to the other gems, seeing the confusion in their expressions. "When I was born, I was deformed; one eye and less than half of the power of any of the other Diamonds. Because of this, Blue Diamond kept me away so the others wouldn't kill me to uphold the prestige of their godhood." She explained. "I didn't have many friends and barely got outside and it was many years until I saw the outside world and discovered what the Diamonds were doing to the gems of Home World. When I discovered this, I rebelled and took up the identity of Sapphire so that I wouldn't draw too much attention and sealed away my power so Blue Diamond wouldn't find us and wipe us all out."

"But why lie to us? We never kept secrets and we did everything to protect our friends!" Ruby yelled. "Your lies cost them their lives!"

"I tried to tell you, but I –,"

"Why did you lie to me?" Ruby said finally, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Ruby …"

Ruby frowned and walked off, heading into the forest and leaving the others behind.

JASPER LOOKED at her fists that were splattered with Steven's blood, releasing steam from them that cleared them away instantly. She tried to shift her focus as she walked through the forest alongside Helio to the location of their ship, failing to keep the thoughts from resurfacing in her mind.

"We should be a few paces from where we cloaked the ship." Helio looked at a holographic map projected from his gauntlet. "If my scans of this area are correct, we should be able to find another of your sister's temples."

"I can't believe I almost killed him." Jasper stopped in her tracks. "I almost killed my own nephew."

"Well, he got in your way; we must eliminate all obstacles." Helio dismissed the map and turned to her. "He got what was coming to him."

"How could you say that?" She frowned.

"I'm merely stating the obvious." He replied blankly.

"I thought you of all people would care about what'd happen to him." Jasper said, her hand running down her stomach. "Especially when our child's on the way."

"Well, our child is different." Helio walked on. "Our mission is to kill your sister then the Diamonds, so your sibling's offspring is no different." He stopped as he realized she'd remained behind, turning back to her. "What is it?"

"Rose deserves to die for what she did, not him." Jasper moved up to him. "She took everything from me, you wouldn't understand."

"I can see it clearly in your eyes." Helio replied. "I can tell how important this is to you, but you need to make up your mind. You can't let your emotions cloud your judgment because hesitation can get you killed when we face the Diamonds." He left. "I'll follow you whatever your decision may be, but you must stick to it or our plans will be all for naught."

Jasper tried to speak, but cut herself off, turning and looking back at the mountains she'd left Steven at in the distance. Shaking her head, she followed Helio as he went deeper into the forest.

THE VOICES in Ruby's mind loudened as she made her way down the footpath, her vision blurring and her breath quickening as she moved on. She frowned as apparitions of her thoughts appeared one after another, worsening the cacophony of emotion that consumed her.

 _"We should have killed this one when we had the chance." White Diamond said condescendingly._

 _"Fucking weakling, she's only holding us back." Doc Ruby looked away in disgust._

 _"A meaningless life like yours only has one purpose, serving the Diamonds." Jasper glowered at her._

 _"You need to stay back and protect the others, we'll handle this." Sapphire said, vanishing from her._

"Shut up!" Ruby clasped her head in rage, frightening birds nearby that fled quickly.

Tears dripped down to the ground and the gem fell to her knees, beginning to hyperventilate as she cried out. Her thoughts were cut short as she noticed something at her knees, raising her head and seeing a trail of gem corpses lining the footpath before her!

"No, no, I promised I'd help you." She looked around in a panic.

"Ruby?" A hand came on her shoulder.

The red woman jerked back in surprise, squinting as she saw who it was behind her. "Peridot?"

"Hey." The green girl said timidly, sitting on a nearby rock. "Are you alright?"

"I, um …" The red woman wiped her tears and got to her feet, seeing that the corpses had disappeared like the apparitions. "I … I'm not sure."

"I'm sorry about what happened." Peridot said. "It must be tough knowing someone you care about has lied to you about who they are."

Ruby stared at the ground before her and exhaled. "I'm not angry that she lied, I grew up being lied to by everyone around me; I shouldn't have trusted her. I just wish I could have done more, could've meant more to the Crystal Gems." She explained. "I've lagged behind for centuries and while we were Garnet, I thought I'd finally gotten stronger, but I was fooling myself. My friends have died because I've been too weak to do anything about it. That's on me."

"Well, guess we're two pieces of shit that're better off down the drain, huh?" Peridot bent her knees to her chest. "Weak, ineffectual, worthless; that's what everyone says."

"Only worthy of being in service to the Diamonds." Ruby added.

"But it doesn't have to be that way; we don't have to listen to what everyone else says." The green girl said. "Strength isn't everything."

"But, how do you help anyone if you're just holding them back?" The red woman turned to her.

"You stop fighting their way and fight in your own." Peridot said. "I know I'll never be as strong as Lapis or Jasper or Helio, but I use my smarts to help where I can." She stood up. "Prove the Diamonds wrong and find your way to defeat them."

Ruby smiled. "Yeah, you're right."

"C'mon, the others are gonna wonder where we wondered off to." Peridot walked on, Ruby following her soon after.

"I'VE KEPT this from you all for too long and I want to make things right." Sapphire said to the Gems. "I'll be forthright with you from now on, no more lies."

Silence fell among the others, Pearl sifting her mind. "I'm sorry; I need to process all of this." She walked off, going to Connie and Gen.

"Well, I don't hold it against you at least, if that helps." Amethyst said, returning to the others.

Lapis watched the others leave. "You should take responsibility for your decisions." She turned back to Sapphire, seeing Ruby and Peridot coming from the forest behind her. "Peridot, where'd you go off to?"

"Aw, c'mon!" Peridot whined as the blue woman flew up to her.

"Let me look at you, you better not have gotten hurt." Lapis studied her, gaining a groan from the girl.

Sapphire turned to see Ruby arrive, going up to her. "Ruby, I need to talk to you."

"No, it's alright; I understand what you had to do." Ruby said. "You must've been through a lot; I can't hold that against you."

"Oh … but, I –,"

"I told you, it's okay." Ruby pocketed her hands, walking off. "It wasn't your fault."

Sapphire watched as the Ruby walked on, seemingly out of her life for good, and returned to the townspeople. Sasuke and his clones moved quickly through the scattered group of people, checking if any of them were injured. Pearl arrived and went up to Connie who laid Mira's body on the ground with two women, looking on and seeing Gen standing alone on his own.

Gen looked out into the forest, sensing Pearl slowly move up to him. "I failed again, I failed her."

"No, Gen, it's not your fault." Pearl said quickly.

"I should've known something like this would happen if those creatures went on unchecked." He said. "I could've put a wall around the town, laid traps in the woods, redirected the energy flow, I –,"

"Gen, there's no way you could've known this would happen."

"Mira's dead and I couldn't do anything to stop it!" Gen said, sifting his mind and sighing. "I'm sorry, you're only trying to help and I'm unloading all of this on you." He clenched his fist. "I'll make sure I don't fail again."

"What're you talking about?" Pearl raised her brow.

"I'll make sure the bastards who made those monsters pay when we find them!" Gen frowned.

"Hold on, you can't just –,"

"Hey, guys!" Steven's voice called out.

Pearl and the others turned to see Steven descending from the skies, looking at the people scattered about. "What happened here?" He asked.

"Steven? Since when can you fly?" Amethyst grew curious.

"Since a couple weeks ago, but we can't talk; something's killing the forest." Steven said.

"What do you mean?" Sapphire asked.

"Trees and animals are dying one after another not too far from here." Steven elaborated. "I don't know what's happening, but it's happening fast."

A low rumbling swept through the earth beneath them, causing to Sasuke to rise with a start, looking into the distance. "The boy's right, something's killing the forest." He waved his arms, channeling his aura and sending individual pockets of it over the townspeople, Gen and Connie.

Dismissing his clones except for one, Sasuke moved up to the doppelganger and gave it an instruction, moving up to the Gems. "My clone will take the people to Breakfast Kingdom from here; we need to stop what's killing the forest before it reaches them."

"Wait, hold on, what's going on here?" Amethyst asked.

"I don't know, but I can sense it coming close too." Sapphire said.

"Something or someone's sapping the Gaia Energy from the earth." Gen explained. "If this spreads, they'd suck the planet dry and it'd crumble."

"Then we need to stop it at the source." Pearl decided.

"Right." Gen agreed.

"No, you need to go with the others." She went up to him.

"Why? I can help."

"Your people need you, Gen," Pearl insisted. "They can't lose both of their leaders in one day, and I don't want you to get hurt."

Gen's brows furrowed as he looked at her, seeing the worry in her eyes. "Alright, I'll be with them."

Gen returned to the others, sharing a glance with Pearl who stood with Sasuke, Connie and the Gems. Making sure everyone was accounted for, Sasuke's clone opened its Rinnegan eye and performed hand signs, opening a wormhole that they went through, disappearing with it.

Sasuke turned back to the Gems only to see trees beginning to crumble. "It got here quickly." He summoned his purple aura over himself.

Trees around them began to wither and crumble, falling to the ground whose grass turned into ash at the feet of the Gems. Connie looked at the decay as it spread onward, seeing the woods slowly die. "Who would do such a thing?"

"Someone with immense power hell-bent on destroying the earth." Sasuke said, turning to Steven and the other Gems. "It seems the decay doesn't affect people of your kind, so that's a relief." He huffed. "Still haven't eaten or slept in three months and I'm exhausted."

"This is you 'exhausted'?" Amethyst said in amazement. "Shit, I wouldn't wanna fight you at full power."

"We need to move quickly." Sapphire said. "Steven, where did you say you saw the decay first coming from?"

"I'll show you the way." Steven flew off. "Follow me."

PEARL, SASUKE, Connie, Amethyst, Ruby, Sapphire, Lion, Lapis and Peridot ran through the forest now-turned wasteland as Steven flew up ahead of them near sunset. Pearl looked on in disbelief as the once lush forest now stood as a massive pile of ashes with barely any trees standing, clutching the hilt of her katana and opening her Sharingan.

"We should be getting to the mountains soon." Steven said. "If they're still standing that is …"

Sasuke frowned as he looked through different light spectrums, turning to Pearl. "You can sense it too, can't you?"

"Sense what?" Connie asked.

"Something powerful." Pearl replied. "I hope it's not what I think it is."

"Huh?" Amethyst squinted when she felt the presence herself. "No way."

"It can't be …" Sapphire's eye widened in surprise.

"It is." Steven stopped in his tracks, looking to his right and seeing light shimmering off the ground. "Something's over there."

"Well, we need to be careful." Sasuke drew his sword. "We shouldn't be callous."

"Right." Pearl said, moving ahead of the group. "Let's go."

The pale woman walked careful towards the shimmering lights, followed by Steven who landed and walked closely beside her. She stepped forward when she felt something in her way, running her hand across it. "There's a barrier here."

"Can you get past it?" Connie asked.

"Let me do it." Sapphire moved up to Pearl when a bright light sparked to life in mid-air before them, nearly blinding them!

Pearl's eyes blinked open as the light subsided and she gasped in shock as the invisible barrier diminished, opening them up to a seemingly alternate realm as they now stood on the courtyard of a sanctuary. The Gems looked around as the forest was a mere few feet behind them standing in darkness, in complete contrast to the brightly lit, beautiful concourse.

Plants, reeds and vines intertwined the fountain and statues of fancily dressed women that led up to a large temple at the center up ahead with large doors. The Gems were hesitant though enthralled by what they saw, conflicted as their fears intensified.

"Is this the source of the decay?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, I'm sure of it." Steven frowned.

The doors of the building began to move, drawing the group's attention as they slowly slid open, giving way for a tall woman to step onto the front yard. Clad in a white dress with long flowing hair and pink skin, the woman looked on at the people who stood there, completely oblivious to the shock on their faces. "Hey, you've arrived! What took you so long?" She grinned like a child.

"Mom?" Steven froze.

 **And, we're in the final stretch!**

 **Hope you liked the chapter! Surprisingly it turned out pretty short even though the length of the plot was similar relative to previous chapters, but ah, well.**

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	7. Mother

**MOTHER**

AN INNOCENT smile spread across Rose's face as she saw Pearl, Sapphire, Ruby and Amethyst standing before her, not noticing Lapis, Peridot, Lion and Steven who were nearby. "Welcome to the latest of my temples!" The pink woman gestured at the building. "I made it more recently and I've finally finished all of them now! What do you think?"

"Rose …" Ruby managed as confusion gripped her.

"It's been such a long time, there's so much I've wanted to discuss." Rose moved up to them.

"What happened? We thought you were dead." Amethyst's brows stitched.

"Yeah, there were even statues of you in the sanctuary of the beach house." Connie said.

"Oh no, I just left for a bit." Rose chuckled.

"It's been nine years." Sapphire stated.

"I know, right? Who would've thought it'd take me this long to finish things up." Rose smiled. "I'd left you guys clues so you could find the temples and help you out, but I guess they were too well hidden – I go overboard sometimes. Man, I wish you'd come sooner; I've been waiting for a while."

"Mom …?" Steven said finally, drawing her attention to him.

"Steven, is that you?" Rose grinned, rushing up to him and embracing him. "Ooh, you've grown so much! I almost didn't recognize you!"

Sapphire watched as the pink woman embrace her son, frowning as thoughts began to run across her mind. "What were you doing here exactly, Rose?"

"Oh, silly me, I forgot to explain." Rose stood up. "I started building the temples long ago because I wanted somewhere I could train and harness my energy more efficiently." She walked across the courtyard. "But as I did my research, I discovered Gaia Energy and repurposed the sanctuaries so I could unearth it globally and absorb it to make myself stronger."

"You did what?" Steven frowned.

"It's not that complex an idea to wrap your head around, Steven." Rose turned to him, looking to the others. "And now that you're here, we can accomplish my plans." She extended her hand. "Join me and receive more power than you ever thought possible."

"You can't be serious." Amethyst frowned.

Shivers went down Sapphire's spine as she took this in. "What is this power for?"

"To rule this planet." Rose said simply. "Humanity needs a protector from Home World and I'm the only one with the power to do so." The warmth in her expression slowly diminished.

"So it is true." Pearl spoke finally. "What I saw in the Black Tower in Beach City … it was the Gaia Energy you unearthed that Home World was after! You caused the invasion!"

"No way …" Peridot said in surprise.

"You destroyed Oval Town." Steven's eyes dilated in horror. "The corrupted animals, the forest, the Oval; it was all your doing."

"Well, sacrifices must be made." Rose's voice became cold. "Animals, humans, they're all the same and if lives must be lost to achieve my goals, then so be it."

"You monster!" Ruby growled.

Rose's eyes squinted as she looked at Ruby then at Sapphire. "Huh, I didn't realize you two were apart now; such a shame that you've now become weaker." She looked to the others. "Now that I think about it, you've all gotten weaker; I don't even think I can use any of you anymore."

"What did you just say?" Amethyst's blood began to boil.

"You're all of no use to me now." Rose moved amongst the Gems. "Garnet, the weapon I've wanted, is now gone and the midget quartz Amethyst has now grown more familiar with humans. You've even allowed a human into your ranks." She frowned as she went past Connie. "Only Steven has ascended and unlocked his cosmic potential; the only reason I had him in the first place."

"Jasper was right about you." Lapis interjected. "You really are a lying snake."

Rose frowned as she heard this, turning her attention to Lapis and Peridot and finally noticing Lion who was nearby. "Hmm, it seems the curse of silence I put on you didn't keep the truth from spilling out, did it, Lion?" She smirked. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter now, does it?"

"How could you?" Tears welled up in Pearl's eyes. "Why're you doing this?"

"Oh, Pearl, my precious little Pearl; my greatest disappointment." Rose walked up to the woman and held her face. "You were so loyal and hopelessly in love with me that it made you the perfect toy, but I failed to find the potential in you to transform into anything of worth."

Sasuke grew impatient as he listened to all of this, reaching for his sword when he noticed small shards of glass slowly rise from the earth. "No, Pearl."

Pearl's breath quickened as her emotions rushed to the surface, her Sharingan beginning to change the more Rose spoke. "In the end, you were just another play thing; once a slave, always a slave." The pink woman sneered.

Pearl screamed out in rage, releasing a powerful concussive wave that blew Rose and the others several feet back and bended the world around her like glass! Sasuke caught himself in midair and frowned as he saw everything shift and turn like a kaleidoscope, seeing Steven and the Gems floating haplessly in the air. Seeing Pearl at the center of the chaos, the Shinobi opened his Rinnegan and sucked everyone into a wormhole, grabbing Pearl and diving through the gateway!

STEVEN COLLAPSED onto the courtyard of the Temple, groaning and sitting up to see Rose and the Gems recuperating as well. He turned around and saw Sasuke landing on the ground with Pearl in his arms who breathed heavily. "What the hell happened?" Ruby groaned.

"Hold on Pearl, just focus on your breathing." Sasuke tried to console the pale woman as she began to hyperventilate, noticing her Sharingan take up another form.

"Did I drink too much beer again?" Amethyst rubbed her head.

"It was Pearl." Sapphire realized.

"Whoa …" Lapis said.

"Hmm, perhaps you may be of use." Rose noted.

"Enough!" Steven exclaimed in rage, catching Rose aback. "Do you know how alone I felt all this time? Seeing everyone at school and in the city with their parents and living happily thinking I never had a mother when you just abandoned me!" He went up to her. "You left me and dad just so you could go on a mad power trip!"

Rose looked at her son condescendingly, trying to speak when a sword pierced her through the chest inches away from her gemstone! "I've had enough of this." Sasuke said as he appeared behind her, leaving a clone with Pearl. "You're going to pay for what you've done to the earth." He drove his blade deeper when Rose collapsed into a pile of dust. "What in the world?"

Rose rushed at the Shinobi from behind with her shield, sending him toppling across the courtyard! Sasuke rolled to his feet, looking up only to meet the steel of the shield again as the Gem sped up to too fast for him to react and smacked him aside, blowing him several meters back into the mountain range in the distance!

"Disgusting human." Rose dismissed her shield and vanished.

"Wait, stop!" Lapis called out when she saw the pink woman reappear at the steps of the Temple.

"Eliminate them while I complete the ritual." Rose said and Jadeite appeared out of a portal beside her alongside Prasiolite, Ametrine, and Aventurine!

"It'll be our pleasure." Jadeite said as she stood amongst her three Sisters.

Rose moved up to the entrance of the Temple, leaving her Generals behind when she heard the hum of an aircraft arrive. She turned and frowned as she saw Jasper and Helio arrive in a large ship, stepping out via the hangar doors. "It seems my assessment was correct." Helio noted as he looked around.

"Jadeite, Prasiolite, Ametrine, Aventurine." Jasper said in shock s as she saw the four. "What happened to you?"

"They gave up their mortal forms in order for me to ascend." Rose stated. "You would ascend as well if you hadn't grown soft and tried to save the weaklings on Home World."

"Rose?" Jasper turned to her and the pink woman went through the doors that closed behind her. "Rose!"

Jasper ran onto the courtyard and stopped as the earth began to shake violently and cracks began to appear in the concrete floor! She looked around and frowned as Gaia tendrils burst out of the ground around the courtyard, spreading out rapidly through the surrounding wasteland!

"She's destroying everything again!" Amethyst cried, summoning her whips.

"Then we need to stop her now." Sapphire coated her arms in ice.

"But we'll need to get past these guys first." Connie drew out her sword.

Sasuke appeared beside Connie, stretching out and loosening up. "Three months without sleep, it'll get to ya." His right eye twitched. "Let's get this done quickly before I pass out from fatigue; I'm losing my reaction time." He cocked his neck. "She does hit hard though."

"Alright, listen up!" Pearl, having composed herself, drew out her sword. "Steven, Jasper, Helio, Sasuke and I will go after Rose and stop her ritual before it destroys Breakfast Kingdom while you guys fight the Sisters and keep them away from us."

"That sounds like a plan." Helio said.

"Okay, move out!"

"Right." Sasuke nodded, opening a portal that sucked him, Jasper, Helio, Steven and Pearl in and vanished!

Lapis, Sapphire, Amethyst and Connie prepared themselves as they stared down the Four Generals, each of them apprehensive as the tendrils grew in number all around the Temple. "It disappoints me to know that this is what becomes of the Crystal Gems after we departed." Aventurine noted.

"Indeed, how pathetic." Ametrine said.

"Don't think this will go like it did the last time we fought." Jadeite frowned.

"We are far more powerful united than when apart." Prasiolite erected large boulders out of the ground around her.

"And so are we." Connie held to her sword.

"I think we're all tired of talking at this point." Amethyst charged fire through her whips.

Leaping forward, Lion let a powerful roar that sent a sonic wave at the Four Generals, forcing them to jump out of the way as it destroyed the ground in its path! The Gems split up as a battle ensued with Amethyst and Connie confronting Prasiolite, and Lapis and Sapphire facing Ametrine, Aventurine and Jadeite all at once.

Peridot and Ruby remained behind as the dust settled, seeing the others engage the enemy. "Well, what do we do now?" Ruby asked.

Peridot looked at the tendrils spreading out and smirked. "I think I have an idea."

STEVEN, PEARL, Jasper, Helio and Sasuke ran down the winding halls of the Temple as the building shook violently and slowly collapsed. Avoiding a falling brick from the ceiling, Pearl looked through the walls with her Sharingan, seeing several small vein-like Gaia tubes running inside the structure.

"It seems Gaia Energy powers the Temples." Pearl said.

"It figures, huh?" Jasper frowned. "Explains why she built so many far off from each other even though you guys set up base in Beach City."

"Well, with all of it in here, it's hard to tell where Rose is." Pearl frowned.

"This just shows how truly adept she is at controlling the energy." Sasuke stated. "We've come across many such Temples in the past, but failed to enter or sense anything here."

"And who is 'we' anyway?" Steven asked.

"Scanners are detecting Rose a few feet west of here." Helio said, cutting off Sasuke.

"Okay, let's –," Pearl tried to speak when a large energy tube burst through the wall, forcing her to block it with her katana!

"You two continue without us!" Helio said as he enlarged his right arm and caught another photon vine! "We'll keep these at bay!"

Steven ducked as an energy tendril cut horizontally through the hallway and he leapt up, pinning it against the ceiling. "Come on, let's go!" He called out to Sasuke and Jasper.

"Stay safe, alright." Jasper said to Helio who gave her a nod and she ran on with Sasuke, being followed by Steven who flew after them.

ELSEWHERE IN the temple, Peridot and Ruby walked through a hall, shuddering as tremors violently shook the walls! "Whatever your plan is, we'd better do it quickly before we get buried here." Ruby stared at the sand that trickled from the ceiling.

Peridot worked on a holographic projection from her gauntlet and scanned the walls, stopping as she found what she was looking for. "Here it is!"

Ruby turned to the wall in question and was puzzled by the magic inscriptions and imagery that seemed to be of Buddhist and Druid descent, raising her brow. "So … what is this?"

"The key to figuring out how to stop Rose!" Peridot read the imagery. "I've studied a lot of religious and satanic rituals practiced by Terrans and many of them are delicate and can be ruined by the slightest alteration, and I believe Rose is performing one based on mixed Terran practices." She looked closely. "And it seems you're just perfect for the job!"

"How?"

"I'm not exactly sure what the ritual is yet, but it relies heavily on nature and plant life, which is why the temple remained untouched early on when the forest decayed." Peridot said. "It seems fire would destabilize the ceremony and cause it to collapse – and you have plenty of that!" She smiled. "Let's ruin her plans."

CONNIE RODE on Lion's back as the animal ran through a maze of jagged rocks Prasiolite summoned from the earth outside the Temple, the green woman becoming aggravated at their deftness and raising two large boulders into the air geokinetically! The girl reacted quickly and fired two Gaia-coated arrows at the rocks with her bow, causing the rocks to crack!

Wrapping one of the boulders with her whip, Amethyst spun in midair and chucked the rock at Prasiolite who summoned a gigantic mass of jagged, tearing through the rock like butter! Amethyst fell to the ground from the impact and the green gem smashed her to the ground with a large rock hand, drawing blood!

"You've grown weak like the humans!" Prasiolite frowned. "Careless and lacking tact; you'll never defeat me this way!"

"And you act a lot like a gem!" Connie took aim with her bow, "Easily distracted."

Lion let out a sonic roar, flinging Prasiolite several meters back, and Connie shot her in the chest, pinning her onto one of her own rocks! Prasiolite's rock hand collapsed and Amethyst got to her feet, dusting herself off as Connie and Lion came to her side.

"Let's show her how 'weak' humans really are." Connie said.

"With pleasure." Amethyst wiped the blood off her lip and lunged at Prasiolite at blistering speeds. "Clothesline!" Amethyst cried as she struck Prasiolite across the neck with her forearm, smashing her through the rocks and spinning her around! "Spinning Suplex!" She hoisted her into the air and crashed down onto the ground, breaking it apart and sending out a wave that rocked both Connie and Lion! "I've missed this!"

AT THE Temple courtyard, Sapphire flew back as Ametrine fired a radioactive blast at her from her palm, burning through the concrete! Lapis collided with Aventurine using water whips as the enemy gem attacked with massive thorn bushes she manipulated, getting sucker punched by Jadeite who leapt out of a portal behind her and knocked her down!

Skidding to a stop, Lapis and Sapphire assessed their opponents as they spread out and cornered them. "Guess they're more powerful than we thought."

"It seems so." Sapphire said, her expression falling. "Lapis, I'm sorry about what happened on Home World; I didn't mean to get you involved."

"No, no, I understand." Lapis replied. "Bystanders died, but it wasn't your fault; it was out of your control." She turned to the blue woman who smiled in relief. "So, you wanna stop holding back on them?"

Sapphire sighed. "I was expecting more of a challenge."

"Yeah, me too." Lapis shrugged. "But it is how it is."

"What are you two blubbering about?" Jadeite raised her brow when a shard of ice struck her shoulder! "What the?"

Sapphire ascended into the air, gathering storm clouds in the sky and releasing a white aura over her body! The three Generals became tense as the heavens darkened and out of the clouds came large jagged balls of hail that rained down, forcing them to try to evade the volley of projectiles! Aventurine jumped back from an ice shard when her cheek suddenly slit open, catching her off guard!

The three gems froze as drops of water floated in the air around them, drawing their attention to Lapis who slowly created a razor sharp mist over the entire courtyard! "Let's finish this."

ROSE CLENCHED her fist over a small bowl, draining out blood from a slit on her palm enough to fill the vessel. Sealing the wound, the Gem moved to the center of the large round room where nine bowls filled with her blood sat on the circumference of a magical wheel etched into the floors design. Veins of Gaia energy ran through the walls, leading to the end of the hall where a gigantic statue of a woman's head sat with its mouth stretched wide open.

She smiled as the magic markings in the room came alight when the door behind her exploded into pieces as Jasper punched her way through, followed by Steven and Sasuke. "What is all this?" Jasper looked at the room.

"Jasper, you're here." Rose turned to her. "I didn't think you'd want to see me at all honestly."

Jasper's anger wilted as she gazed upon her sister at the center of the ritual room, her mind flooding with confusion and grief. "What did you do to the Sisters?"

"I told you, they ascended."

"They were our friends!" Jasper yelled, shaking her head in horror. "This isn't you; you'd never do something like this, not to family."

"You have to stop this now." Steven said. "Please, we can figure out a way to fix this."

"We all have to make sacrifices." Rose held her arms out, absorbing the energy from the vines around her. "Because of that, I have become more, more than you worthless mortal clods would ever understand. I will become God!"

A deep green aura exploded out of Jasper as she yelled out in rage and she summoned her helmet over her gemstone, speeding across the room and colliding with Rose who blocked with her forearm, causing the entire room to tremble! Steven and Sasuke came at Rose from both sides, Steven with his shield and Sasuke with his sword and Rose blocked them all!

Steven raised his brow and jerked back in surprise as Rose manifested two extra ethereal arms and held both him and Sasuke back telekinetically! The pink gem smacked Jasper aside with a shield she summoned and repelled Steven and Sasuke when Sasuke froze in midair, confusing her. "Amaterasu!" The Shinobi opened his Mangekyou Sharingan, causing the Gem's face to erupt in black flames!

Rose writhed in pain as she burned and Sasuke skidded on the ground, raising his hand. "Bansho-Teni!" He cried out, sucking her into his grip telekinetically and smashing her into the floor! "Shinra-Tensei!" He lifted the woman and blasted her toward Jasper!

Jasper collided with Rose in midair and punched her to the floor, absorbing the kinetic energy from Sasuke's attack, and releasing it in a blast of orange energy that burned the entire room! Rose spat out blood and Jasper pinned her down by her neck, conjuring a photon sword that she raised high into the air! She swung down for the final strike when she stopped in place as she saw her injured sister before her.

She breathed heavily and relinquished her aura from the room, dismissing the sword she created. "I can't kill you." She realized. "You're my sister."

"Then you're weak like all the rest." Rose frowned at her.

"Rose, you have to stop this, it's not too late." Jasper said. "You can stop the ritual and we can figure things out from there."

Rose remained silent, seemingly considering her words, when a smirk spread on her lips. "You know, you always frightened me back on Home World with how ferocious you'd get, but I guess altruism and the prospect of motherhood has made you weak."

"Rose, I –," Jasper tried to speak when Rose stabbed her with a sword!

"Jasper!" Steven cried out.

Jasper grunted as Rose pushed the blade further in, grabbing the orange gem's helmet and shattering it in her grasp, cracking her gemstone as well! The pink woman tossed Jasper aside and got to her feet, frowning as Steven quickly flew to Jasper's side. She moved toward Steven when she saw Sasuke drawing out his sword.

"Enough!" Rose raised her arm, manacling him telepathically and thrusting him through a wall!

"Jasper, hold on!" Steven spread a bubble over the woman as she wheezed and bled out on the floor, frowning as she saw Rose come up to her.

"Let her die, Steven, she's nothing to us." Rose said.

"She's your sister!"

"And that doesn't matter anymore." Rose held out her hand. "Join me, Steven; you and I can protect humanity more than the Gems ever could."

"I'll never join you." Steven frowned.

Rose sighed. "Where'd we go wrong with you?" She shook her head. "At least your father understands my cause."

"What're you talking about?" Steven rose to his feet.

Rose waved her arm, opening a portal beside her that let out a stasis pod that held Greg inside! "Say 'hello' to our son, Gregory."

 **If you like this book so far, check out our Gravity Falls books, that we're still writing, which share the same universe as this series. If not, check out any of the other books we've done.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	8. Greg Universe

**GREG UNIVERSE**

STEVEN'S EYES widened in shock as he saw Greg lying unconscious in the hovering pod beside Rose, his mind racing with memories of his last moments with him on the shores of Beach City during the invasion. "H-how? I saw him die!" Steven turned to Rose.

"There's so much you don't understand," Rose held her hand out to him. "Join us, Steven, join me and become a god!"

"What did you do to him?" Steven backed away from her.

Rose huffed. "I think there's been enough talk."

"Steven, look out!" Pearl's voice called out.

Steven turned to where Pearl's voice came from and jerked back as he saw a Gaia tendril slithering on the ground up to him! Pearl rushed into the room through a hole in the wall and javelined a spear at the photon vine, piercing it and causing it to disintegrate!

Rose frowned at this and tried to attack Steven while his back was turned and Pearl conjured a clone between them that blocked her with a broadsword. "You monster! You're taking people's life force using those vines!" The doppelganger growled.

"Well, what difference would it make? Their lives are worthless if they aren't in service to me!"

"And you'd kill your own son just to get stronger?"

"Move out of my way!" Rose smacked the clone's sword away and cut it down with an axe she conjured when the duplicate melted into a white liquid that wrapped around her arm! "What the..?"

Steven turned to Rose and squinted as the woman flailed wildly at the air around her. "What's she doing?"

"I put her in a Genjutsu, but I doubt it'll work for long." Pearl ran up to Steven and looked around, seeing Sasuke passed out on the ground. "Oh great, he's out of steam."

A crash drew their attention to the hole in the wall as Helio broke his way through, turning to his right and seeing Jasper lying beneath Steven's energy bubble. "What happened?" He rushed up to the orange gem.

"Rose attacked her earlier." Steven explained.

"No, no, no." Helio came to Jasper's side, seeing the blood on her stomach. Reacting quickly, he drew out a star-shaped device and placed it on the light bubble, causing it to spark and slowly turn white. "You'll be fine, just hang on." He held her hand through the bubble, placing his other hand over her wound. "He'll be fine."

Steven looked on in worry as Helio watched over Jasper when he heard a loud splat behind him, making him quickly turn to see Rose's head explode! Steven and Pearl watched in horror as Rose's body fell limp as her blood and brains splattered on the ground, forcing them to back away as it bled all over the floor.

"What the hell just happened?" Steven asked.

"I don't know; my illusion wasn't supposed to do that." Pearl frowned as the blood came up to her feet, forcing her to rise into the air.

Helio frowned as he took a good look around the room, noticing that Rose's blood was draining toward the nine bowls around the room! "We have to destroy the nine vessels!" He yelled out.

"What?" Pearl turned to him.

"She's draining her blood into them; it has to be part of the ritual!"

Pearl looked down and realized what Helio was talking about, trying to summon a sword when Steven flew toward the pod Greg was in. "Steven, stop!"

"Dad, hang on!" Steven cried, reaching out to his father when the room trembled and a Gaia tube shot out of the ground and got in his way!

A violent earthquake swept through the temple and collapsed it rapidly, forcing Steven, Helio and Pearl into the air as the room fell apart! Pearl frowned as the blood on the ground slowly evaporated, looking upward and seeing the eyes of the room's statue come alight!

"An illusion spell that alters the energy flow in the brain and manipulates all the senses, very interesting." Rose spoke as her body reformed and got to its feet. "I'll be sure to never let that trick me again!"

Steven, Pearl and Helio, who held Jasper beside him an enlarged arm, backed away as Gaia vines tore the temple apart and swam around Rose who levitated into the air. The pink Gem held her hands out and drew power from the tendrils around her, sapping them dry until they disintegrated!

"All who dare stand in my way will face damnation," Rose turned to them. "For I have become God!"

* * *

RUBY RAN her hands across a wall as she ran in the halls of the Temple, sending small amounts of fire into the symbols etched into the masonry that shifted erratically as Gaia energy sputtered out! Running alongside her was Peridot who fiddled with a small light mandala when the tremors caught up to them, causing Ruby to stumble forward. "Be careful, one mistake and we'll anger the spirits that reside in here!" Peridot yelled.

"Well, how long do I have to do this for? It's getting harder with all this damn shaking!" Ruby retorted.

"Hey, coding a new magical seal isn't a walk in the park, you know!" Peridot frowned. "I have to be careful too so we can stop this ritual. Now come on, we don't have time to lose!"

* * *

PRASIOLITE SKIDDED across the ground, grunting in pain as Amethyst, Lion and Connie drew closer to her and she spat out blood. She struggled to move as the three surrounded her when she saw Gaia Energy collect beneath her and rush into her body, giving her a boost of power! "Oh great, this shit again." Amethyst frowned.

"It's not over yet!" Prasiolite yelled and slammed her hand onto the ground, shattering the earth around them apart!

Connie, Lion and Amethyst were caught aback as they lost their footing and fell toward an endless abyss Prasiolite created, getting sucked into the earth! Acting quickly, Connie jumped off Lion and ran onto a falling rock, corkscrewing between two other boulders, and she took aim with her bow! She squinted as she looked through the collapsing debris below her and she fired through the millimeter wide space, impaling Prasiolite clean in the heart!

Lion dove down after Amethyst who plummeted below and caught her, sending out a shockwave with a powerful roar that destroyed the rocks between Connie and Prasiolite, clearing up her path! Taking her sword, Connie spring-boarded off a boulder in midair and sped up to Prasiolite, cutting her in half and shattering her shoulder gemstone instantly!

"Now, it's over." Connie frowned.

* * *

LAPIS GLIDED through the mist as it cut Ametrine, Aventurine and Jadeite from all sides and Sapphire's hailstorm that rained down from above, crafting a sword made of ice in her hands when a bright beam of light exploded out of the Temple up ahead, burning through the mist instantly! Sapphire looked to the light as it shone brightly, not noticing the three enemy Gems below drawing power from it as Gaia Energy vines spread under the Temple courtyard and drove into them!

"This isn't good." Lapis frowned.

"I couldn't have said it any better." Aventurine smirked as she erected a massive branch that impaled Lapis, driving her into the air as she created a gigantic tree out of nothing!

Sapphire frowned as she saw the blue woman skewered and the branch tear closer to the gemstone on her back, failing to see Ametrine below who shot a laser blast at her! Sapphire stumbled forward, feeling pain radiate from the hole burned into her stomach, and Jadeite appeared above her from behind and smashed her down into the ground!

At the Temple, Rose ascended through the beam of light, bathing in the stream of Gaia Energy that shot toward the sky and enjoying the sight of fractures tearing through the earth below! "This is too perfect!" She smiled when she saw Pearl and Steven flying toward her. "What a nuisance."

"We have to think of a way to kill her now, Steven, before it's too late." Pearl frowned.

Steven sifted his mind as he tried to think, unwilling to believe Pearl – there had to be a way to get through to Rose. As he thought, he saw Greg's pod hovering near Rose. "I'm going after him!" He flew up to it!

"Steven, stop, she's baiting you!" Pearl called out.

Steven sped up to Greg when Rose teleported up to him too fast for him to react and she grabbed his face, chucking him down and sending him burrowing deep into the ground below! Smiling at the resultant crater, she flew after the boy when Pearl rushed at her with her katana, locking blades as she quickly conjured a blade!

"I won't let you hurt him!" Pearl declared.

"Leave us, slave, your services are no longer needed." Rose frowned. "This is between mother and son."

"I've been more of a mother to him than you've ever been!" Pearl yelled and knocked her aside, sending her flying back!

Rose caught herself in midair, not expecting the strength she displayed, and Pearl rushed at her with a swing, getting instantly blown back as Rose shattered her sword with the flick of a wrist! Pearl fell back as Rose caused powerful winds from simply waving her arm and the pale woman retaliated, conjuring several hundred swords that she sent flying at Rose! The pink Gem cocked her neck as the barrage of blades came at her and she snapped her fingers, causing them to shatter to pieces!

On the ground below, Steven dragged himself out of a massive hole and coughed out blood as he came to the surface, pulling himself to his feet and looking to the skies as Pearl and Rose collided with each other. He frowned as pain rang in his ears when he saw Greg's pod floating off on its own. "Dad!" He quickly flew up.

Moving past Pearl and Rose's battle, the boy quickly came to the small vessel and saw his father unconscious inside. He looked around for a way to open the tiny ship, unable to recognize any of the wordings on its side and slowly giving in to panic. "Dad? Dad, can you hear me?" Steven called. "It's me, Steven!"

Steven's muffled voice moved through the glass and into the small space, meeting Greg's ears as his eyes slowly opened. "Steven?"

* * *

SEVERAL YEARS ago, twelve year old Greg and Marty sat on the shores of Beach City in the dead of night; the sounds of the crashing waves deadening the cold they felt as they sat there alone. The moon shone brightly over the two and Greg looked to the stars above, bending his knees to his chest as the glow enamored him.

"You ever think there's life out there?" Greg asked.

"What? Like aliens? Fuck no." Marty scoffed.

"How can you be so sure? Out of the planets out there, there's gotta be one like ours." Greg smiled. "I'm gonna go out there and meet one of our friends in the stars one day."

Marty frowned. "You've been reading too many comics again." He laid back on the sand. "This's all there is, Greg; there's nothing more out there for orphans like us." Greg sighed upon hearing this, unrelenting as he continued looking upward, his eyes burning with determination.

* * *

YEARS LATER, Greg in his late-teens pushed his way into a tiny room where Marty and three other guys lay passed out on a messy floor littered with cigarettes and beer bottles. He frowned as loud music blared on the stereo and he jerked back as three near-naked girls slid past him and out of the room, annoying him even more.

"Come on, you guys, is this what being in a band is about?" Greg tried to walk over a fallen suitcase.

"Hey, quiet down, you're talking too loud." One guy sat up, rubbing his head.

"Greg, you've gotta get off your high horse, man." Marty clumsily got to his feet. "We're popular and we've got bitches! Hook up with a groupie once in a while and chill the fuck out."

"I'm not doing that." Greg reached out and picked up a guitar. "Now, come on, our next shows in a few hours in the next town, so we gotta go." The others groaned.

* * *

GREG RUBBED his eyes and squinted as he tried to see past the wet windshield as he drove a truck in the dim early morning. He turned and saw his friends fast asleep in the back seat and he frowned to himself, reaching for a cigarette in his pocket. He reached for a lighter when a man crashed onto the car and fell onto the ground!

"What the hell!?" He slammed on the brakes, shaking the others awake.

"What? What? What happened!?" One guy yelled.

"Is it the cops? Cuz I swear I don't have any snow on me, I swear." Marty instinctively held his hands up.

"Something just fell on our car." Greg opened the door.

"Oh, so it was you who took my pearl yesterday, huh?" Marty said groggily.

Greg stepped out of the truck, completely ignoring the rain, and slowly inched toward the front of the vehicle to see a humanoid creature getting to its feet. He froze in surprise as he saw it, wincing as the others loudly stepped out to look for themselves. "Whoa, what is that thing?" One guy said.

"Shh, you don't wanna freak it out." Greg said quickly.

"Please, you need to help me! I'm from the Null Void and someone's after me!" The creature stood and turned to them, revealing its scarred slimy skin, muscular build and round eyeless face with a vertical mouth with jagged teeth!

"What the fuck is that thing!?" Greg's friend screamed and ran back to the truck.

"Hold on, we should help it." Greg moved toward the creature. "What should we call you?"

"Greg, we've gotta get outta here!" Marty opened one of the truck's doors.

"Marty, wait, maybe we could –," Greg tried to speak when the alien slashed his stomach with a long jagged spike that protruded from its arm, drawing out blood!

"Greg!" Marty yelled then quickly ducked as the monster spat out a ball of acid at him, letting the sludge hit his friend behind him!

Marty turned to see his friend writhing on the ground in agony and the monster cut him down with a spiked arm, stalking over him and going for the kill! "Stop!" Greg drew the alien's attention to him as he groggily got to his feet, covering his bleeding wound with his arm.

The beast growled as it turned to him, releasing several small spikes along its back when a laser blast shot it clean in the head, killing it instantly! Greg backed away as the alien fell dead and he turned to see a man in his twenties training a blaster and standing near his nearby hovering jet!

"Are you alright?" The man ran to Greg's side as he nearly fell over.

"W-who are you?" Greg asked.

"I'm here to help." The man replied, looking at Marty and his friend down on the ground and the other two guys cowering in fear inside the truck. "Here, take these; they'll help heal your wounds." He handed him three capsules from his pocket and headed for his ship.

"Wait, who are you?" Greg repeated. "How did you stop that thing? I wanna know how to do that too."

The strange man scrutinized the teenager before him, smiling at the determination her saw in his eyes. "I'm Max Tennyson," He finally replied and handed him a card. "Contact me with this number at a payphone and I'll tell you everything you need to know."

Greg received the card and read it, raising his brow. "A plumber?" He squinted his eyes as a bright light emanated from the jet as it rose into the air and blasted off into the distance, leaving him in the rain.

* * *

YEARS LATER, Greg looked at the same card he held in hand while he stood by a window inside a large plumber spaceship as it flew over a desert below. He looked at the card that'd worn out over time when he felt a hand on his shoulder that made him jump with a start. "Guess you forgot your training, huh?" Max chuckled.

"No, you didn't catch me off-guard, I totally expected that." Greg laughed nervously.

"Sure." Max crossed his arms. "You still got that card?"

"It's a souvenir from when I joined the Plumbers!" Greg took a heroic pose. "I want my grandkids to see it and be inspired."

"Sure thing, Star Man." Max headed for the cockpit, looking at the ship's coordinates as it piloted itself. "Now, look alive, we're about to deploy."

"It's hard to believe how hard Home World is pushing to invade earth." Greg looked at the sands below. "Look at what they did to this ocean."

"Those Lapis Lazuli machines are true monsters of technology." Max frowned. "But until we can figure out a way to stop them, we've got to free these alien refugees and send Home World packing."

"Roger that."

"Ship, take us down." Max said, receiving a beep from the ship's onboard computer.

The massive aircraft came to a slow descent on the dried ocean below and Max and Greg slowly disembarked the vessel as its doors slid open, shielding their faces from the strong winds as a sand storm slowly brewed. Greg clutched his sidearm as he carefully inched forward, trying to make his way through the thick haze when a large figure came lunging toward him!

Greg cried out in terror and quickly took aim when a large woman rushed between them and struck the Centipeetle in its side, sending it crashing into a rise nearby! The man panted in surprise as he saw the sand settle and he turned to see Rose rising to her feet behind him. "Whoa …" He said in awe.

"I'm sorry, are you hurt?" The pink Gem asked.

"N-no …" Greg said, trying to compose himself and gaining a chuckle from the woman.

"Hey, you must be the Plumbers I've heard of, right? We could use your help." Rose smiled.

"Uh, yeah, I'm with those guys." Greg cleared his throat.

"You amuse me, human." Rose stabbed her Sword into the ground, releasing a blinding light from her gemstone that spread over the entire desert!

The light receded and cleared the sandy winds, revealing a damaged battlefield as several Crystal Gems including Amethyst, Pearl, Garnet, and Lion fought an army of Centipeetles and defended humanoid aliens who fled the violence! "What are those things?" Greg readied himself.

"They're new gems from Home World." Rose frowned. "We can't defeat them while protecting these refugees."

"What do you mean?" Greg asked and he turned to see Garnet punch a hole into a Centipeetle only for it to split into two duplicates that crashed onto her!

Greg tried to think when Max sped past him on a jetpack, deftly avoiding spurts of acid a Centipeetle shot at him! Drawing out a laser rifle, the Plumber fired a massive beam at the monster, causing a massive explosion that nearly made Greg fall over! Max smiled as the smoke cleared, only to see several smaller Centipeetles in place of the original that dove into the sand and caused the earth to shake violently!

"Rose, we have to get out of here!" Pearl ran up to her. "Lion can bubble the refugees and beam them to safety, so there's no reason to keep fighting here."

"But we need to stop the Centipeetles or they'll just keep spreading." Rose explained.

Greg studied the battlefield and squinted as he saw a Centipeetle sniffle a trail of blood droplets toward Amethyst as she battled. Seeing this, he took out a dagger from his pocket and cut his arm, running off. "What in the world?" Pearl watched in confusion.

Greg activated his jetpack and flew over the battlefield, draining his blood near the Centipeetles and drawing their attention to him as he went into the distance. "Greg, what're you doing!?" Max called out.

Max stopped a few feet away from the Plumber ship, seeing that he'd gotten the Centipeetles to follow him, and he blasted a hole into the ground below, diving in head on! Max and the Gems watched in confusion as the man disappeared into the underground, waiting for something to happen when low shook the ground beneath their feet!

Dim lights came from the hole and Greg flew out quickly after. "Max, we've gotta go now!"

"What'd you …" Max cut himself off as he saw Greg's gun was damaged. "Everybody, get in the ship now!"

"What're you –," Amethyst tried to say when the ground shook violently! "Well, shit!" She ran off.

Rose, the Gems and the small group of refugees rushed into the ship after Max, Greg went in as well, looking out the window, and seeing lights shining through the sands as large fissures spread across the ground! Rose looked outside and watched in awe as a gigantic light explosion erupted out of the underground, burning a massive crater into the desert!

"What did you do …?" She asked.

"I damaged the core of my rifle and unloaded all my grenades." Greg grinned. "It's a last ditch effort and it worked." Rose smiled at the shorter man.

"That was some smart thinking there, Universe." Max walked up to the two.

"Well, I wouldn't say that." Greg rubbed the back of his neck. "So, where do we take the refugees?"

"I have a suggestion." Rose said.

* * *

HOURS LATER, Max set the ship down on the shores of Beach City, coming upon the Temple set on the side off the mountain and opening the hangar doors. The Gems disembarked and were slowly followed by the refugees whom they led into the building. Greg and Max stepped out after the others and looked around in surprise as people sat on the beach completely indifferent to their presence.

"Well, that's a first." Greg said.

"Did you put a spell on them or something?" Max asked Rose who was behind them.

"No, they just assumed we were with a 'SHIELD', still don't know what that means, so we just played along." Rose said. "Your world and this city in particular are quite accommodating." She hovered toward the porch of the Temple. "Come with me."

Greg and Max followed the woman into the building, finding several other Gems inside attending to the refugees and tending to their wounds. They watched curiously as the women were hard at work rehabilitating them, seeing Pearl opening portals for some of them via the warp pad and sending them off world.

"Our efforts to fend off Home World have somewhat changed over time as we've come to know of what they've done to other planets and we've started helping those in need we come across." Rose said. "But regardless, we're still working to stop those monsters and bring them down. We won't let Home World invade the earth."

"Cool." Greg said simply.

"So, you're a Plumber, huh?" Amethyst walked up to Max.

"Yes, we work for the Amersian Government to protect the innocent, human and alien alike." Max said.

"Huh, why don't you tell me more?" Amethyst smiled and took his hand, leading him off.

Greg raised his brow as the two went off and he grunted in pain, looking down and realizing his arm was still bleeding through his makeshift bandage. "Crap."

"Oh my, I didn't realize you were still hurt." Rose led the man up to a nearby chair and spread her energy over his wound, healing it.

"No, no, you don't have to do that, I did this to myself." Greg said.

"Well, if it wasn't for your quick thinking, more people would've gotten hurt." Rose placed her hand on his arm as it healed. "It's the least I can do." Greg looked into the taller woman's eyes, smiling as he felt a warmth and kindness radiating from them.

Years passed and Greg and Max often came across the Crystal Gems as they travelled the globe trying to eradicate the gems from Home World. During that time, Greg and Rose drew closer as well and Greg started staying with the Gems in Beach City, getting married to Rose and having Steven.

* * *

SEVENTEEN YEARS ago, an infant Steven gurgled in Rose's arms as she and Greg sat at the porch one sunny afternoon. "You're going to be a strong little human when you grow up." Rose said softly.

"Yeah, and become a Plumber like your old man." Greg chuckled.

"Let's let him decide what he wants to be." Rose replied, holding the baby's tiny hands. "You can be anybody you wanna be, my little universe."

Inside the building behind them, Pearl and Garnet watched the two from the living room, the pale woman grumbling to herself as she stared at the child. "I hate him." Pearl said finally.

"Get over it Pearl, you were Rose's girlfriend for a while, but it's over now; move on." Garnet said. "Their offspring's a cute little thing, you have to admit."

"I was referring to the half-breed they're coddling; he disgusts me."

"Please." Garnet scoffed. "Jealousy's not a good look on you Pearl; it makes you a bad liar." Pearl remained upset, making Garnet roll her eyes. "Alright, let me put your hubris to rest."

"Huh?" Pearl looked up as the taller Gem went into the porch.

"I'm taking him." Garnet grabbed Steven and went back inside.

"Hey, wait," Greg said and the woman ignored her.

"Relax, she wouldn't hurt him." Rose chuckled.

"There." Garnet put Steven in Pearl's hands and walked off.

"Hey, what am I going to do with this thing?" Pearl held Steven far from her, frowning as the baby laughed.

Pearl squinted at Steven as she held him up by his small arms with her fingers, getting irritated as he blew a bubble with his drool and giggled as it popped. The woman groaned and placed him on the chair beside her, moving away and crossing her arms in anger. As she sat however, Steven crawled up to her and sat on her lap.

"No, no, you're supposed to stay over there." Pearl said quickly.

"Mama." The baby said.

"What? Oh, you're way beyond mistaken."

Steven curled up in the woman's lap and played with her sash, tugging at it and chewing on it, annoying her more. She moved to throw him off when she saw him start to nod off, redness forming in her cheeks as he fell asleep comfortably.

"I think I love him …" She ogled at the child.

"Told you." Garnet said from the kitchen, gaining a frown from Pearl.

Rose chuckled as she heard this from outside, rising from the bench and standing by the railing as she watched the oceans crash on the shore. "Heh, seems she just needed a little time with him, huh?" Greg walked up to Rose, seeing a solemn look on her face. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it's just …" The pink woman sighed. "It's been a century since we rebelled against Home World and we're no closer to defeating them."

"Well, it's not like you've done nothing, right?" He said. "You've saved many people."

"But we haven't made a dent in Home World's forces." She countered. "For every hundred gems we take down, they have a thousand more and they just keep getting stronger."

"The Plumbers were founded decades ago and their fight to keep peace is still not over." Greg looked to the ocean. "Sometimes it all seems hopeless, but you only lose when you give up. We can win this fight, Rose."

Rose's expression grew blank. "I hope so …"

* * *

DAYS LATER, Greg moved across the halls of Plumber Headquarters, greeting an agent as he made his way through the building. He turned the corner and went up to th door to Archives when he found it damaged, instinctively pulling out his handgun and rushing into the room. He carefully stepped between the shelves that filled the area when he saw Rose pulling out a folder from a drawer up ahead! "Rose?"

Rose turned to the man and frowned, continuing to flip through the binder. "What're you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? This is a restricted area; you don't have clearance." Greg squinted as he looked at the number on the folder, his eyes widening in horror. "Gaia Energy? What're you doing?"

"I need to find a way to stop Home World once and for all." Rose said without looking at him.

"Using Gaia Energy would destabilize the earth and kill us all, Rose, put that folder away now!"

"I've already used Gaia Energy long before now, I already know the risks." Rose finally turned to him. "But the knowledge you have on it is amazing! With this, I could destroy the Diamonds single-handedly! Think about it."

"At what cost? The billions of human lives on earth? How would genocide be any different from what the Diamonds have done?" Greg moved up to her.

"We have fought the Diamonds for centuries and look at us; the Crystal Gems have been cut in half and they only keep getting stronger." Rose sighed. "I'm out of options."

"Rose, please, listen to me; you don't want to do this." Greg said. "We can figure something out and put a stop to them. With SHIELD's Avengers Initiative, we could take the war to Home World after we clear out their soldiers here."

Rose shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't wait any longer." She bubbled the folder and beamed it away. "I must go."

"What? Where?" Greg frowned.

"I knew you'd disagree with this and I can't be held back." Rose said. "The Gems would agree with you with how much they've integrated with humans, so I must leave them behind as well."

"Rose, please, you have to rethink this; you can't abandon them." Greg walked up to her. "What about our son?"

Rose paused as he said this, looking up to him with grief in her eyes. "Take care of Steven for me, Greg."

"Rose!"

"I'm sorry." Rose vanished, leaving Greg behind confused.

* * *

IN THE PRESENT, Pearl fell from the sky and crashed on the ground, skidding to a stop beside Helio who sat at Jasper's side and watched over her as she was under the healing sphere. Pearl looked up as her clones distracted Rose above and she pulled herself to her feet, moving up to him. "Why is she still under? What's going on?" Pearl asked.

"I don't know; Jasper's revived from far worse injuries before." Helio replied.

"… How's the child?" Pearl asked.

Helio placed a hand on Jasper's stomach and sighed. "He's fine, luckily the stab missed him by a few inches." He rose to his feet. "This doesn't make any sense; it's like there's something stopping her from healing."

Pearl frowned as it hit her. "It's Rose! She's slowed her regeneration!"

"That's impossible, only a Diamond has that kind of power."

"Then it means …" Shivers went down Pearl's spine as she looked up to the pink gem as she decimated her duplicates. "She's as strong as a Diamond now."

Rose pushed back Pearl's clones with telepathic force, moving in to attack them when she heard Steven's voice nearby, seeing him with Greg. "No." She flew up to them.

"Dad, dad!" Steven banged against Greg's pod, seeing the man inside slowly awaken. "Dad, can you hear me?!"

"Steven? Steven!" Greg shot up and reached for the glass when his ship suddenly flung back.

"Dad!" Steven called out as Rose summoned the pod to her side. "What did you do to him? I saw him die!"

Rose chuckled. "Why don't you tell him, sweetheart?" She turned to Greg. "It's not like any of you will be alive for much longer."

Greg sighed. "When we separated after Home World attacked Beach City, I took out the Bloodstone and healed myself with a special serum the Plumbers use that heals any wound, but shortens your lifespan when they're about to die."

"You're a plumber?" Steven raised his brow. "I thought you worked at the car wash."

"That was a front – the Plumbers are a secret government agency meant to protect earth against alien threats." Greg said. "I told the Gems to keep this from you so you could have a normal life, but clearly that was impossible."

"When he escaped, he confronted me with some of his plumber friends and tried to stop my plans." Rose interjected. "Had he come with Max Tennyson's grandson he would have succeeded, but he had the gull to think mere humans could stop me." She chuckled. "I've kept him as a souvenir from who I used to be and I found out from his past memories that he lied to you all about me leaving. What kind of parent are you, Greg?"

Grief filled Greg's face. "I'm sorry, Steven, I kept a lot from you so you could have a normal life and I shouldn't have. I wanted you to have what I didn't growing up; to have a memory of your mother that wasn't marred by what she became." He placed his hand on the glass. "I'm so sorry Steven."

"How pointless." Rose clenched her fist, telepathically suffocating Greg inside the vessel!

"Stop it!" Steven yelled.

"You've all failed me." Rose frowned. "Once I'm done with you Steven, I'll kill your father and dispose of him – he's of no use to me now."

A deep purple aura exploded out of Steven's body and engulfed the wasteland for several meters around him, drawing the attention of Amethyst, Connie, Sapphire, Lapis, Ruby and Peridot as he darkened the entire area! Rose backed up as she felt his power fill the air and she frowned as the moon began to dim in comparison to a bright light that emanated from his body!

"Amazing." Rose grinned. "You've unleashed the cosmic power I imbued in you when you were born!"

Rising from the darkness, Steven hovered before Rose in white energy that matched a raging glow in his eyes. "This ends now, mom!" He waved his arm, dismissing the purple aura that shrouded the area in darkness! "You'll die for what you've done!"


	9. Goodbye

**GOODBYE**

RAGE BURNED through Steven's glowing white eyes as he stared down Rose who hovered in the sky above. Rose smiled excitedly as she saw this, her breath baited as she thought of how she could use his power to her advantage when Steven suddenly vanished!

"What?" Rose squinted and looked around when Steven appeared in front of her and impaled her with a photon spear he conjured!

Rose spat out blood as the blade drove through her and Steven dismissed the weapon, striking her hard in the head with a kick that hurtled her down into the face of a mountain below! Pearl watched in concern as Steven chased after Rose, then frowned as she felt the earth shake beneath her, turning her attention to Jasper who lay nearby.

Rose pushed broken boulders aside as she emerged from the hole in the mountain, quickly healing her wound and tensing up as Steven flew at her. She summoned her shield and prepared to defend herself when she felt the wind get knocked out of her as an invisible force hit her in the gut and carved her further into the rocks!

Steven flew over the Gem as he overwhelmed her with a telepathic barrage and he shot down toward her, grabbing her face and smashing her onto the ground! He stood over her and charged energy through his fist when Rose knocked him back with a powerful aura that burst out of her body, summoning magic circles in her hands and conjuring four light cannons around her that fired a torrent of laser blasts at him!

Steven sped downward, cutting through the lasers like nothing, and he coated his fists in energy, teleporting behind the pink Gem and punching her in the back, driving her deep into the ground! He dove into the hole and made chase as Rose fell through the soil, catching herself and summoning Gaia vines that sped toward Steven like roots!

Cranking his arm back, Steven chucked an energy ball with a punch, burning through the photon tendrils and creating explosions above ground that tore through the earth! Amethyst, Connie and Lion watched over Prasiolite's body on the surface, wondering whether she was still alive when they saw the series of eruptions barreling up to them, barely getting out of the way in time to see Rose blown into the air by the blasts and Steven flying after her!

"Steven?" Connie raised her brow and chased after the two with Amethyst and Lion following her.

Rose steadied herself in midair and saw the boy charging at her, conjuring an energy mace that she swung at him! Steven smacked the weapon aside and punched her in the stomach with so much force that it sent out powerful shockwaves that nearly blew the Gems off their feet hundreds of meters below!

Steven grabbed Rose by her hair and smashed his knee into her face, drawing blood, and he spun her around by one arm, flinging her to the earth below! Seeing her crash to the earth, the boy screamed out in rage and raised his arms to the sky, forming a gigantic sphere of energy several meters wide from his palms that outshone the moon and caused an intense heat around him!

Shrinking the energy into a small ball in his right hand, Steven flew after Rose and shoved the blast into her gut, driving her into the earth and causing a gigantic explosion that went several feet into the air! Connie, Amethyst and Lion stopped as the blast spread out toward them and were knocked back by the aftershock, sending them flying back!

Rose spat out blood and coughed severely as the smoke diminished around them, Steven rising to his feet and standing over her as the two were inside a huge crater. The woman wheezed as her dress was torn apart and her body was covered in cuts and burns, trying to get her bearings when Steven grabbed her by the hair, holding her head up and clenching his free hand into a fist.

Rose opened her eyes to see Steven go for the finishing blow and the Gem slammed her hand onto the ground, summoning an energy tube that stabbed him in the back! Steven stumbled forward and moved to rip out the vine when the tube yanked him back, driving further into him and drawing out blood, throwing him aside like a ragdoll!

"Enough games." Rose smirked. "This world is mine."

Rose stumbled forward and placed her palms on the ground, drawing three tubes of Gaia Energy that impaled her spine, pouring the energy of the earth into her! Steven skidded to a stop and frowned as Rose slowly ascended into the air, gaining more power and slowly increasing several feet in size!

Pearl and Helio watched from afar as the Gem became a giant, the pale woman stepping back as her pressure made the air heavy. "This is insane." Pearl's eyes dilated in shock. "She's become unstoppable."

"Not quite." A voice said.

Pearl turned to where the voice came from and smiled. "Sasuke, you're awake!"

Sasuke creaked his neck. "Well, I wouldn't say I got much sleep, but I suppose it'll do."

"What're you talking about? How do you plan on defeating her with the power she has?" Helio asked.

Sasuke walked ahead of them. "Just step back." He created distance between them and thrust his arm forward, opening his Rinnegan. "Chibaku-Tensei!"

Rose laughed evilly as she grew larger and larger, feeling the energy flooding into her as she ascended and shone brightly in the sky! She looked on at Steven who studied her and she opened her palm to summon a weapon when she felt a sudden force compress around her and caused her limbs to buckle up! The ground below began to break up and large rocks rose up and flew toward the Gem, collecting rapidly and cocooning her into a gigantic sphere of earth!

Opening his Mangekyou Sharingan, Sasuke forged a powerful aura around his body that transformed and shaped into an ethereal ribcage that hoisted him into the air as it further turned into a massive skeleton over a hundred feet in height! The Shinobi held his arm forward and the outer-skeleton mimicked his movement, creating an armor of pure energy that wrapped around the giant avatar and completed its transformation!

"This is the Susanoo!" Sasuke cried out as he drew out his sword, channeling energy through the aura armor and creating a gigantic blade that spanned several miles!

The Susanoo towered high above the mountain range as it eyed its surroundings and it turned its attention to Rose who was trapped in the small planetoid. Grabbing its energy blade with both arms, the Aura Samurai poured more energy into the blade, sending tremors through the ground and causing the stars in the sky to darken as it shone brightly through its display of power!

Sasuke moved his blade forward and directed the Susanoo to swing its sword toward Rose, breaking apart the ground to pieces as it drove the ethereal weapon toward the planetary ball! The sword met the rock and cut through it cleanly when a wave of energy burst out of the sphere as Rose broke out of her binds, shattering the sword and shredding one of the Aura Samurai's arms like they were nothing!

"Impossible!" Sasuke staggered back and reformed the armored titan around him. He froze as the Gem blazed with energy in the sky up ahead, her power beginning to distort reality as the air around her started to crack like glass!

"I told you, I am God!" Rose proclaimed and snapped her hand shut, conjuring several vines that wrapped around the Susanoo and manacled it instantly! She moved over the earth and frowned as she eyed Steven and the Gems below, holding her hand forward. "I was mistaken to think the earth needed a Savior, a Protector; it's clear to me now that this world is full of sinners that'd dare oppose me! This world needs to be cleansed!"

Pearl looked around as an earthquake swept the valley and was instantly held in place as several Gaia vines burst out and one of them wrapped around her! Helio frowned as this happened and turned to see the healing sphere around Jasper break apart as tubes coiled around the unconscious Gem. "Jasper!" He cried out and tried to reach for her when a tendril held him down as well!

Rose smiled as Steven and the Gems below were held down and she held her arms out as a massive Gaia Energy tube emerged out of the ground when the tube suddenly wrapped around her and bound her as well! "What in the world!?" Rose frowned as the photon vine began to pull her toward the earth!

A small explosion erupted nearby and out of the ground came Ruby who piggybacked Peridot as they dug their way out of the collapsed temple. "Ha! We made it!" The green girl smiled.

"Yeah, thanks for helping me break through several tons of rock!" Ruby frowned.

"You're welcome there buddy." Peridot got off the red woman who grumbled in anger and she looked around, seeing Rose being dragged down up above and the energy vines around slowly break down. "Aha! It worked!"

"What did you do!?" Rose demanded.

"Well, it's quite simple actually; I altered the ritual you performed." Peridot began. "With a small change to the conditions of your blood contract, I severally shortened the time you had before you had to fulfill your end of the bargain to the Gaia Spirits that inhabited the earth's core, and now they want your soul."

"Why you –," Rose thrust her arm out at her and grunted as the vine yanked her back and began to drain the energy from her body, slowly returning her to her normal size!

"You played a dangerous game dealing with parasitical spirits that feed on energy, and I thought, why not give those greedy bastards what they want and let them have your soul a few decades early." Peridot crossed her arms. "And just like coding, I simply changed a one to a zero and stopped the ritual."

"Hey, I was part of the plan too!" Ruby yelled.

"Yeah, she was part of the plan too." Peridot stated, annoying the red woman.

Rose chuckled and grabbed an energy vine, drawing energy from it again! "Your foolishness will be your undoing!" She tore the tube in half! "The Gaia Spirits are far beneath me! And if they want to oppose me, they'll fall like all the rest!"

Connie watched as the Gem began to break free from her binds and she sifted her mind, running into the fray. "Connie, what're you doing?" Amethyst called out.

The girl ran up to the vine that held Rose down and she coated her arms in Gaia Energy, thrusting her hands into the photon stream and creating more tendrils that wrapped around the Gem! Steven watched in awe as Connie directed the massive tube down to the ground, pulling Rose down with it! Connie began to pant as Rose was dragged down when the Gem grabbed her neck, causing her to let go of the vines!

"I won't let anyone get in my way; the Diamonds will pay for what they've done!" Rose yelled as she choked the girl.

"Connie!" Steven flew toward her when Rose's stomach burst out, spraying blood all around. "What the?"

Rose gasped and looked forward to see that a hand stabbed through her stomach and held her gemstone out of her body, letting go of Connie and realizing who had impaled her. "Jasper …?" She looked back to see the orange Gem standing behind her.

"I'm sorry, Rose." Jasper said, setting her down as she felt the life drain out of her sister's body.

"D-don't do this …" Rose pleaded, tears welling in her eyes. "We have to s-stop the …. Diamonds …"

Jasper held Rose's face with her free hand and crushed her gemstone with the other, killing her sister. Jasper placed Rose's body on the ground and stepped back as the energy vines wrapped around her body, pulling her deeper into the soil. The orange gem watched as the vines receded and Steven ran up to her, freezing up as he saw Rose slowly disappear into the soil, her face being the last he saw of her as she submerged completely.

Pearl, Helio, Sapphire, Ruby, Peridot, Amethyst, Lapis, Lion and Sasuke drew closer as Steven stood and quietly watched the mound of soil where Rose once was. Connie remained behind as she saw the boy remain silent, unsure of what to say to him when Pearl went up to Steven and placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling his emptiness as he didn't react at all to her.

A solemn silence fell across the valley as the Gaia Energy receded and Rose's grave disappeared when lights began to glimmer from the earth all around them! Steven stirred as he saw this and his eyes widened as a rose slowly sprouted out of the ground, followed by several other flowers that rapidly germinated and started to fill the valley!

Tears went down Pearl's face as she recognized the plants that began to grow all around. "Rose …!" She said shakily, covering her mouth as she began to weep.

"It's like the garden she planted on Home World long ago…" Sapphire realized.

"I remember this…" Jasper said finally.

Steven looked around as a massive garden quickly filled the once barren valley, filling the area with a wide array of flowers and trees that created a forest twice as beautiful as the one that stood before. He squinted as this happened, unsure of how to feel when he suddenly felt Rose's presence sweep past him as wind blew and cast flower petals into the night sky up ahead.

Steven clenched his fists shakily as tears went down his face, seeing the garden of roses standing at his feet. "Goodbye, mom…"

* * *

DAYS LATER, Amethyst, Jasper, Helio, Lapis, Finn, Jake and Wendy sat at a counter having a meal at a bar in Breakfast Kingdom in the morning. "Whoa! You fought a god!" Jake shot out of his seat with shock on his face.

"Yeah, she was a pain to defeat honestly." Amethyst sat back and drank a beer.

"I don't think it's such a good idea to drink this early." Finn noted.

"Ah, whatever – morning, afternoon, night, I drink when I want." The purple woman took a large gulp.

"Are you sure you're okay, Amethyst? I mean, I thought Rose meant a lot to you guys." Lapis asked.

"Well, yeah, but I let go of her long ago honestly." Amethyst said and sat up. "I thought she died and then I find out that all I knew about her was a lie, I say good riddance!"

Lapis squinted, unsure if she believed her when she heard Jasper laughing beside her. "That's the spirit, Amethyst, fuck that bitch!" The orange gem chugged down Scotch from a bottle.

"Jasper, are you sure you should be drinking?" Helio asked.

"Hey, hey, don't think just because we're in public that I won't fuck you right here and now." Jasper draped her arm over his shoulder and burped. "You're looking pretty fuckable right now."

"Alright, alright." Helio backed off and Jasper laughed hysterically.

"Uh, I thought you're not supposed to drink when you're having a kid." Lapis said.

"This's how she grieves." Helio explained. "Leave her be."

"Man, we missed everything." Finn crossed his arms and sulked. "I wanted to fight a god."

"Don't worry, man, at least we got the bounty!" Jake grinned as he shook a sack of gold he had in hand.

"From how powerful Rose sounded like, you'd have fucking died if you fought her, Finn." Wendy said.

"Hey, I can hold my own against a god." Finn retorted.

"Not one that strong."

"Can too." Finn frowned.

"If you say so." Wendy stirred her coffee.

* * *

RUBY POCKETED her hands as she stood on a sidewalk and watched at the townspeople of Oval Town mingle with those of Breakfast Kingdom, amused by how uniquely different they looked from the humans she'd seen before. She leaned on a lamppost and glanced to her right, seeing Sapphire descending from the sky. "Hey, Ruby." The blue woman said.

"Oh, Sapphire." Ruby said, moving up to her. "Where're the others?"

"They're eating at a diner." The blue woman explained, landing beside her.

"You're not hungry either, huh?" Ruby asked.

"No, not really." Sapphire looked into the street, sifting her mind. "Ruby, I … about earlier –,"

"I told you, Sapphire, it's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I am." Ruby turned to her. "I understand the choice you had to make; I'm not mad, honestly."

Sapphire looked around. "But … what about us?"

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked and looked into her eye, realizing what she meant. "Oh …"

"I'll understand whatever decision you make, I just …" Sapphire walked up to her and held her hand. "I just wanted to know if we're still together."

Ruby pulled her hand away from hers and tried to think, sighing finally. "I don't think I can do this anymore."

"Oh …" Sapphire looked to the ground.

"I –," Ruby paused. "It's not you; I just need to find myself again." She explained. "We've become very different people since we met on Home World and I've realized how much of myself I put away when we became Garnet. And now that I know that you're … you, I …"

"I understand." Sapphire replied. "I should've told you the truth before, but we're here now."

Ruby looked to Sapphire for a bit and pulled her in, placing her lips against hers and kissing her softly. She stepped back and held her hand. "I love you, Sapphire – I still care about you and I'm not leaving the Gems … but I need to take my life in a different direction." She let go of her. "Goodbye, Sapphire." The red woman walked off, leaving the blue woman to think.

* * *

GEN SAT on a bench elsewhere in the city, holding a small sack in his hands and withholding tears as he felt the ashes inside. He sighed and saw Pearl walking up to him, quickly putting the bag aside and standing up. "Oh, Pearl, you're back." He said.

"Yes, we had a lot to deal with." Pearl replied and looked around. "Looks like your people have settled down."

"Yeah, King Waffle allowed us to stay here for as long as we need and offered to help us rebuild the town." Gen explained. "He's a kind man."

"That's good to hear." Pearl said, her expression falling slightly as she continued. "Gen, I just came to tell you that we're leaving."

"Really?" Gen raised his brow.

"We came looking for a way to get to Home World and we didn't find it here, so we have to keep moving." Pearl said. "Now that your people are safe, there's nothing more for us to do."

Gen huffed and nodded. "Very well, I won't hold you back here then." He held his hand out to her. "Thank you for everything, my people wouldn't be here without you and the Gems helping us." He smiled wistfully. "I'm going to miss you, Pearl."

Pearl looked into Gen's eyes as he offered to shake her hand and she moved up to him, kissing him and holding his face with both hands tenderly. She pulled back and blushed, running a finger through her hair. "Heh, sorry about that."

"No, it was –," Gen cleared his throat and looked around.

She stared into his eyes once more and shook herself out of it, clumsily pulling out a black disk with a red symbol on its front from her pocket and placing it in his hand. "Here, use this to contact me while I'm gone." She said. "J-just use the red button."

"Oh, cool." Gen analyzed the card then looked up to see her walking away hurriedly. "How does it work –,"

"Goodbye, Gen." Pearl said hastily, leaving Gen chuckling slightly.

* * *

SAPPHIRE RUBBED her arms as she flew across Breakfast Kingdom, trying to get her head off what'd happened and focusing on the task at hand. She came to a hill on the outskirts and descended, looking around and waiting when Sasuke appeared beside her.

"Is something wrong?" Sasuke asked.

"No, just a thing with a friend." Sapphire avoided the topic. "How's the forest?"

"The decay seems to have subsided since Rose's demise and her garden's quickly replaced the forest." Sasuke said. "I'm sorry about what happened with Rose."

"No, it's alright." Sapphire replied. "We all make our choices."

"Well, I'll continue my investigation until I'm sure Gaia Energy doesn't resurface elsewhere." He said. "I have to thank you Gems for your aid in the situation; it was invaluable."

"No, you're the one we should thank." She countered. "Oval Town would be destroyed if you hadn't stepped in."

"I suppose." Sasuke began to walk away. "I have to say, you're more than I expected you to be – Daisy Johnson was right about you."

"Wait, you're working with SHIELD?" Sapphire realized and the Shinobi vanished.

* * *

STEVEN AND Connie stood in a small hospital room as Doctor Princess checked on Greg's vitals as he lay unconscious in bed. "Is he going to be alright?" Connie asked.

"He should be." The Doctor turned to them. "It'll take a while for all his injuries to heal, but we did our best."

"What was wrong with him exactly?" Steven asked.

"Well, he took an experimental healing serum to fix his broken spine, but it was a temporary solution." She began. "Without a proper medical evaluation afterward, he was unaware of the other injuries he'd sustained." She noticed the worry in the boy's eyes. "But don't worry, he should be fine soon; it should take only a few days before he wakes up."

Steven and Connie listened to the Doctor's explanation and they remained behind for a bit, watching over the man who lay connected to machines and IVs. After a while, they stepped out of the hospital into the street, Connie becoming concerned as Steven had been silent the whole time. "Steven, are you okay?" She asked finally.

Steven looked out, seeing a family chatting through the window of a shop across the street and sighing. "I don't know …" He frowned. "I don't know what to do anymore."

"It's okay, Steven, you don't –,"

"I wanted to kill my mom." He turned to her, clenching his fist. "I was going to kill her – what kind of person does that make me?"

Connie saw the confusion in his eyes. "We have to make tough choices sometimes and I can't tell you whether it was the right one or not." She continued. "When we left Beach City, I told you my parents let me come along, but I lied. I wanted to come with you so I could find out who I could be; I knew there was so much more out there I had to discover." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "There's still more out there for you too, and I'll be with you whatever it may be."

Steven looked to the family across the street and thought for a bit, sighing. "I need to go."

"Huh? Where?" She asked as he walked off.

"I don't know who I am anymore, Connie." Steven said. "All this time I've fought for the Gems and I thought my mom was this great hero and that was a giant lie. I need to find myself, and I don't know when I'll be back."

Connie tried to argue, but cut herself off. "I understand …"

Steven saw the worry in her eyes and moved up to her, embracing her. "I'm sorry about all of this; I didn't think would end up so bad when you'd join us."

"No, it's not your fault." Connie held him. "I don't regret any of it."

Steven smiled and stepped away from Connie, ascending into the air. "Take care of the Gems for me."

"Sure." Connie chuckled and watched Steven as he shot off and disappeared into the sky.

* * *

PERIDOT TIGHTENED a bolt in the engine of the Carwash RV, frowning as a rabbit hopped onto the radiator. "Come on, Pooky, you're gonna get hurt." She picked up the rodent and giggled as it fidgeted in her grip, turning to see Pearl, Greg, Sapphire, Amethyst, Jasper, Helio, Lapis, Ruby and Lion walk up to her on the beachfront. "Oh hey, you came!" Peridot smiled.

"So, this's where you've been this past week." Jasper noted.

"Oh, hey, how's Lion? Did you manage to break the silence curse on him?" Peridot asked.

"Unfortunately, it seems to be the type that persists even after the caster dies." Pearl explained. "Sapphire and I spent days trying to break it, but to no avail."

"We can only communicate with him telepathically for now, but even that's still a challenge." Sapphire said, looking at the Gem who sat by himself a few feet away. "He lost a lot of his power and a lot more because of the curse; we can only hope to find a way to free him soon."

"Oh, okay." Peridot looked at Lion.

"What'd you call us here for?" Amethyst asked Peridot then raised her brow as she finally saw that the RV had a different paintjob. "What'd you do?"

"My baby!" Greg cried out in horror and ran up to the vehicle.

"Oh, hey there, Steven's dad, you recovered from surgery." Peridot said. "Don't tell me you have amnesia now – oh wait, that's after a coma." She tapped her forehead. "Got my earth drama tropes mixed up again."

"What'd you do to her?" Greg asked.

"Well, I upgraded her so she could be ready for space travel." Peridot shut the hood of the vehicle, giggling as Pooky sniffed her ear. "I replaced the engines, added artificial gravity and added a spatial distorter so there's more room on the inside than there actually is." She put her hands on her hips smugly. "Home World's tech isn't only good for combat."

"Okay, but why did you do that?" Pearl asked.

"Well, I detected Home World transmissions in our star system, so Home World's most likely coming to earth again." Peridot said.

"What!?" Amethyst eyes dilated in horror.

"You can't be serious." Ruby frowned.

"My RV!" Greg wailed and hugged the side of the vehicle.

"I guess we don't have time to waste." Jasper stepped forward. "We have to take the battle to Home World, now!"

"Wait, we're just gonna go right now? How're we gonna face the Diamonds by ourselves?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, can't we at least call the Avengers to help us or something?" Amethyst suggested.

"No can do." Lapis replied. "I'd hacked SHIELD's databases when we'd invaded Beach City and the Avengers are spread out tight trying to keep the peace. We're doing this ourselves."

"I've prepared for this for centuries and I've amassed armies on several worlds." Jasper grinned proudly. "There's no way we can lose!"

"Uh, are we sure we should be fighting them so soon?" Helio asked, pointing at her slight baby bump. "You won't be combat ready."

"I'll have delivered by then – it only takes three months and that's exactly how long it'll take to reach Home World, and what matters right now is taking the Diamonds down!" Jasper grinned.

"Hell no, we're staying here until you've given birth, 'cuz I'm ain't no fucking midwife." Amethyst walked off.

"Oh, you're gonna be a midwife!" Jasper chased after her.

"No, leave me alone!" Amethyst yelled as the taller Gem grabbed her. "This's harassment! This's harassment!" She clawed against the ground as Jasper dragged her away. "I don't wanna touch a pussy!"

Pearl groaned as the two ran about. "This's gonna be a long trip."

"Yup." Sapphire deadpanned.

* * *

MEANWHILE IN outer space, White Diamond walked around her laboratory aboard her gigantic space ship, eyeing several specimens that floated in containment chambers in the large room when a door slid open behind her and an Agate walked in. "My Diamond, we just got word; our scanners showed that Rose Quartz's energy signature has disappeared from the star system." The Gem said. "She is dead."

"Very well, leave." White Diamond said and the Gem exited the room, leaving her to ponder. "Hmm, her energy level vastly surpasses ours and she suddenly dies? She must've taken part in a failed ritual or something. No matter." She walked toward two forth-dimensional cubes that housed two women that were unconscious. "We'll be ready if anything like that ever happens again, won't we, my Saiyan pets?"

* * *

 **And there you have it, the end of the second arc!**

 **For those who don't know, the RealDone Universe is fanfic version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe meaning every book we do is connected to a larger universe. You don't have to read every book to know what's going on, but if you're interested in any of our other books, check our bio. We'd suggest the Gravity Falls books, Big Hero 6 – both of which are ongoing – or Adventure Time.**

 **The next arc titled Home World, starting in the next chapter, will be the final in this series, so be on the lookout for that. Thanks for reading**


	10. Home World, Ch1 - Welcome Home

Welcome to the Universe! It's been a week of intense planning, but we've finally finished planning the finale of the Steven Universe Shattered Trilogy! If you've been here since the beginning, thanks for coming back and if you're new, I hope you enjoy the story as it continues.

We've made several changes to the lore and characters since the beginning and now that it feels like our own unique spin on the Steven Universe story, we're happy to finally take the characters to a definitive final place in their arcs.

Please, if you enjoy or hate what you're reading, leave a review so we can know what you'd want us to do. Even if you don't have much to say, a review would go a long way in letting us know someone's actually reading so we can be motivated to keep writing for you guys. So without further ado, let's get started!

* * *

 **Welcome Home**

JASPER'S MASSIVE bat-shaped spaceship zoomed through space, moving past planet after planet that showed no signs of life. It had been three years since they embarked on their journey, though they were unsure of how much time had passed on earth, and they were drawing closer on their destination: Home World.

The orange gem in question, former Commander under White Diamond, walked through the main living quarters of the ship where Connie, who was now 18, Ruby, Sapphire, Lapis, Amethyst and Lion sat by the windows of the vessel, and made her way to the cockpit. Waiting for the door to slide open, she stepped into the pilot's chambers where Peridot and Greg commandeered the ship, glancing at the small holo-map on the dashboard between the two.

"How far off are we?" Jasper asked.

"Just about a few minutes," Peridot answered without looking at her. "We're receiving life signals from a planet nearby so it's gotta be it."

"I wonder why there's been no life for the past week since we entered this star system." Greg said.

"It's probably because the inhabitants fled from the Diamonds or were killed off by them." Jasper said.

"Well, let's hope it's the former." Peridot shivered. "It'd be unnerving if they could clear out so many civilizations just like that."

"I suppose." Jasper headed out of the room. "I'll tell the others we'll be arriving shortly."

Greg glanced back as the door shut and he turned to Peridot. "Hey, can I pilot the ship now?"

"No."

"Oh, c'mon, it'll only be for a few minutes."

"You want us to simply crash on Home World? I can't trust you on this." Peridot said.

"Hey, I was a Plumber once." Greg frowned.

"Yeah, once, a very long time ago and you barely remember anything." Peridot said. "You don't even know how to initiate a hyper jump."

"Come on, it's getting boring just sitting here doing nothing."

"I said no!" Peridot shut him down, aggravating the man who sat back and frowned.

* * *

PEARL LOOKED around as she walked the streets of Oval Town alongside Gen, smiling as she saw the rebuilt houses on either side of the cobblestone road and people moving past her. She looked to where the Oval used to be and was in awe at the statue of Mira that stood in its place, seeing the flowers resting at its feet and a small crowd of people paying their respects.

"I can't believe you rebuilt so quickly." She said.

"The Breakfast Kingdom works pretty fast – I'm surprised their food based materials actually make strong buildings." Gen said.

"It looks magnificent." She turned to him. "What did you do about the garden that Rose left behind?"

"It was a tough decision, but the people decided to simply leave it be." Gen explained. "To our surprise, it radiates with Gaia Energy as well and it helped the forest regrow."

"I guess Rose really was connected to the earth, for better or worse." Pearl looked to the forest in the outskirts of the small town.

"So, where are you now? Have you found what you're looking for?"

"We're close to Home World now, I can feel it." Pearl paused for a bit. "Whether I'm ready or not, we'll just have to see I guess."

"Well, just stay safe, alright."

"I'll come back as soon as I can, I promise." Pearl held his hand.

Gen tried to speak when Pearl vanished, leaving a slight trail of light on his hand where she last touched. Their connection was slipping the more time passed and the space between their talks was widening, making him wonder if one day they wouldn't see each other again.

In Jasper's ship, Pearl sighed as the holographic projector in the middle of her quarters disconnected, moving over and turning it off entirely.

* * *

CONNIE LOOKED out the window in the ship's main area, astounded by how different space looked depending on which area you're in or how far from a star you were. "So, we're finally heading to Home World, huh? I'm not sure I'm ready honestly."

"Heh, I know I am." Amethyst, who sat across her, stretched back in her seat.

"Sure, except I beat you yesterday in sparring practice."

"You beat me? Bullshit!"

"Bitch, I beat your ass and your know it!" Connie smirked.

"Yeah, and you lost the other day." Amethyst retorted.

"True, I admit that."

"I guess it's a tie then." Amethyst crossed her arms.

"Yeah, but one day you won't be able to match me."

"We'll see about that, kid." Amethyst chuckled.

Connie laughed then paused for a bit, her mood souring. "It's too bad Steven isn't here for this though."

"He hasn't contacted you yet?"

"He didn't leave me any way to in the first place." Connie said. "I just hope he's okay wherever he is."

"Well, I say good riddance; he can stay gone if he wants!" Ruby, who sat on the other side of the room with Sapphire across from her, yelled.

"You were just complaining about how you missed him this morning." Sapphire said, keenly reading her book.

Ruby scoffed. "Surprised you even heard me while reading that crap."

"She's still reading hentai?" Connie asked.

"She hasn't put it down since yesterday." Ruby said.

"You know that stuff will rot your brain, right?"

"I can't believe she won't share any with me." Amethyst said. "Though I coulda just used my phone, but it doesn't work so far away from earth."

"Why do you even read that anyway?" Connie asked Sapphire.

"I don't know." Sapphire shut the book. "I don't even find it arousing, but I'm still interested anyway."

"Yeah, you're just a pervert."

"You got that right; sex with her was always the kinkiest shit." Ruby laughed. "Rarely happened though since we were almost always fused."

"Ugh, I don't wanna hear about that." Connie cringed.

"And neither do I." Jasper said as she walked into the room. "Stay focused on the task at hand; we're here."

"Whoa, we are?" Connie got up and followed her as she headed into the cockpit.

"Yeah, we are." Peridot said as she heard Jasper, Connie and the others enter, standing up and gesturing to the window. "Welcome home!"

Connie's eyes dilated in awe as she took in the magnificent large purple planet adorned by the light of the nearby sun, amazed at the shimmering lights on the surface of the planet and the many interconnected asteroids that floated around it. "It's so beautiful."

"I wouldn't be so taken by its appearance." Pearl said as she entered. "It's a heartless rock I have no fond memories of."

"Well, it does look amazing." Greg said.

"I've had some fond memories from growing up with Rose." Jasper said with a sigh.

"This's your mother's home, Blood Quartz." Helio, who Connie didn't see when she came in, said to a dark-red skinned toddler gem garbed in black clothing and a black breathing apparatus who stood beside him. "What do you think?"

Blood looked to the planet and slowly moved up to the window wordlessly, stopping beside Jasper and holding his hands up to her. Smiling, the orange gem picked the child up. "I wonder if this's the first and last he'll ever see of this place."

"Why does he have to wear that all the time?" Connie gestured to the child.

"Gem children have trouble breathing in their first years of life, so that helps filter the air for them." Pearl said.

Jasper nuzzled Blood and moved over to Helio, handing the child to him. "Take him to his chambers; he shouldn't get caught up in this."

"Sure." Helio took Blood and stepped out of the room.

"Aw, the kid's adorable!" Greg said, getting a glare from Jasper that sent shivers up his spine.

"Alright, let's prepare for our descent." Peridot returned to her seat, turning to Jasper. "Where do you want to land, chief?"

"Take us to Region –,"

"This an emergency! Repeat, this is an emergency! Requesting immediate backup to the Third Home World Sleeper Outpost!" A male voice came on the ship's computer.

"Who's that?" Connie asked.

"It's one of my soldiers." Jasper said, rushing to the control panel and pressing a button. "This's Commander Jasper, what's your status?"

"J-Jasper? Commander, we're under attack!" The man said in a panic.

"What's happening?"

"The M –," Static interrupted the line. "Home World is –,"

The transmission cut. "Soldier?" Jasper asked. "Lieutenant Grey Topaz, what's happening?"

"Uh, guys …" Connie said, pointing to Home World up ahead.

Jasper looked up and backed up in horror as explosions ripped through four of the asteroids around the planet. "What's happening?"

* * *

SOUNDS OF screams and laser fire filled the air on the surface of the Third Home World Security Outpost, the soldiers of Jasper's rebel militia scrambling as they were attacked from all sides by an enemy they never anticipated. Aircraft were knocked out of the sky and the ground cannons were ripped apart by the attacking forces, pushing the soldiers back and cornering them at their base.

"I can't believe these bastards would do this." Grey Topaz frowned as he opened fire and backed toward the main building of the Security Outpost.

"Lieutenant, help me!" A fallen soldier called out from beneath a pile of debris.

"Hang on!" Grey Topaz ran up to the man and tried to get the rubble off him.

An explosion knocked him to the side however and Grey Topaz looked up to see the outpost go up in flames. He got to his feet and panted, seeing the Moss slowly overrun Home World's forces and destroy the asteroid itself. The creatures were made entirely of green living matter, taking up misshapen horrid humanoid forms for combat and shifting into a liquid-like state to corrupt and destroy machines and non-living matter.

A mass of Moss spread rapidly across the ground toward Grey Topaz and he fired at it with his laser rifle, unable to stop the entity as it surrounded him! He shut his eyes, awaiting the inevitable when a sonic wave washed over him, shattering the Moss around him and causing it to scatter like broken glass on the ground.

"What the?" Grey Topaz looked to his left to see Lion running through the battlefield and engaging some Mosslings nearby. He squinted, unsure who the gem was, when he heard Jasper's ship above and looked up, smiling as he saw the orange gem standing by the hanger doors. "Commander!"

Jasper leapt off the ship and came crashing with a punch that cracked the asteroid for several meters around her and knocked back Mosslings nearby. Summoning her helmet around her gemstone, she fired a green photon beam out of her hand, incinerating more of the Moss around her and freeing some of her men. Jumping out of the crater she made, she entered the fray.

Standing from the hangar of the ship, Connie watched as the Moss spread further and further like a green stain over the asteroid, horrified as she saw no end to it. "What is that?"

"That's the Moss, a Home World bioweapon used to obliterate enemies without being detected. They have no energy or heat signature and won't be spotted until it's too late." Pearl frowned. "They were just a fabled dream when I was on Home World, but it seems they've finally completed its creation. Disgusting."

"Well, so basically keep on your toes, right? I go this." Amethyst moved past the two and jumped off the ship.

Amethyst shape-shifted into a large bird as she descended and zigzagged between the Mosslings attacking Jasper's men, wrapping the creatures with her whip that she held in her beak and ascending back into the air, transforming back into her normal form and tossing the lassoed creatures upward, igniting her weapon and incinerating them in a massive explosion that lit the sky!

On the ground, Jasper wrestled with a Mossling and grabbed its neck, smashing it against the ground and blasting it point blank with a photon beam, disintegrating the creature. She rose up and saw more of the creatures nearby when Grey Topaz ran up to her. "Commander!" He called.

"Grey Topaz, what's the situation?" Jasper asked.

"We've lost most of our men already and our cannons are down."

"What happened? Was there a spy among you?" Jasper asked.

"The Moss are attacking us indiscriminately – even soldiers loyal to the Diamonds are getting killed here." Grey Topaz said.

"What madness is this?" Jasper frowned.

"We have to evacuate, we can't fight them like this."

"It's just the Moss, it's no match for us."

"You don't understand, the asteroid's been corrupted." Grey Topaz explained, stunning Jasper as she realized what it meant.

In the ship above, Connie donned her space helmet and prepared to jump onto the asteroid when tremors rippled through the craft, nearly causing her and Pearl to fall off their feet. "What the?"

"Something's hit the ship!" Peridot cried. "We're going down!"

On the asteroid, Jasper watched in horror as a gigantic mass of Moss shot out of the ground, struck the ship from below, and dragged it downward! Reacting quickly, Jasper flew toward the spacecraft when another swathe of Moss erupted from beneath her and bound her, pulling her further away. She struggled against the pull when she looked at the asteroid from above, horrified as the green entity and ripped through it, slowly demolishing it from the inside!

Amethyst burned down a Mossling from nearby and was bound by another as well, forced to watch as Jasper's men nearby were gutted like fish. Grey Topaz watched as his comrades died around him, seeing his Commander hung helpless above him and her ship burning to the ground. With all hope lost, he typed on a keypad on his gauntlet and looked up to Jasper.

"I'm sorry, Commander." He pressed one more button.

Jasper went pale as she realized what he'd done, hearing the main building of the outpost erupt in flames as the asteroid began to self-destruct! The blazing fires engulfed her men below and Grey Topaz watched as the Moss was incinerated, smiling as he was swallowed in the blast as well.

"Grey!" Jasper cried out, immediately getting knocked aside by the shockwave.

The security outpost's explosion sent Jasper, Amethyst and the ship that held Connie and the Gems flying outward and crashing towards Home World below! The aircraft broke apart in the heat of re-entry and the gems were separated, falling like meteors to the ground below.

* * *

LIGHTS SHIMMERED in the sky above as a chunk of Jasper's ship hurtled to the ground and smashed against the sandy rise of a small pink desert, kicking up dust and coming to a creaking stop. Steam rose from the vessel as it slowly cooled and one of its doors flew open as Helio kicked his way out while holding Blood Quartz in one hand, using his free hand to pull out Connie who fell unconscious and giving way for Pearl and Ruby who squeezed their way out and collapsed on the ground gasping for breath.

Helio looked around, expected a barrage of Home World soldiers to attack when he saw the faint lights of the asteroids in space exploding one after another. "Home World's defenses are down …" He sifted his mind in confusion and turned to see Jasper standing a few feet away looking blankly into the distance.

"They're all gone, all of them …" Jasper said shakily. "My armies have been wiped out."

"How do you …" Helio cut himself off as he heard radio static from her gauntlet. "They found us out?"

"It doesn't make sense, I was thorough …" Jasper shook her head. "I had very few sleepers and I had soldiers in far off systems, how did they find them all?"

"Jasper –,"

"Everything is gone, Helio!" Jasper yelled. "Our last chance to defeat the Diamonds is gone!" Her tone softened. "Those were my brothers; I fought with them for years and they're …"

Helio saw the emptiness and grief in Jasper's eyes and walked up to her, hesitating to speak, and she embraced him tightly, wordlessly seeking comfort in him.

Connie groaned as she slowly came to a few feet behind them, seeing Pearl who sat beside her. "What happened?"

"I think we might've lost already." Pearl said, looking to Ruby who searched around their crashed portion of the ship.

"Nobody else is here." Ruby walked up to them. "We gotta go find the others."

"But where do we start?" Connie stood up.

Pearl looked around, trying to think, when she saw small buildings peaking in the distance. "I think I know where we are."

"Is this …?" Ruby asked.

"Region Pink." Jasper said as she stepped away from Helio. "The home of Pink Diamond."

"Is that a military camp or something?" Connie asked.

"No, the energy signature from there is too low." Jasper said. "Come on, let's see what it is."

Jasper, Helio, Pearl, Connie and Ruby traversed the patchy desert toward the buildings they saw, coming closer and realizing that it was a small town with damaged old structures. In the town were several low level gems with numbers tattooed on their necks that immediately turned their attention to them as they arrived, the weaker among them backing away as they sensed Jasper and Helio's power.

"Stop right there!" A small Carnelian ran up to them and held out a rusty spear. "Who are you? State your business before I gut ya!"

"Watch where you're pointing that, you little runt." Jasper snapped the weapon like a twig.

Carnelian yelped. "Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Everybody run and hide!" She darted off, annoying Jasper.

"I'm sorry about that." A blue Pearl walked up to them. "She dropped out of training, but still feels she's has to fight somebody." She chuckled then gasped as she saw Pearl, her eyes wide in awe. "Whoa, you're a pearl! You're so pretty!"

"I haven't seen another pearl in a long time." Pearl said, chuckling uneasily as Blue Pearl shook her hand eagerly.

"You haven't? Oh, you must work for a high ranking commander or something." Blue Pearl said, looking to Jasper. "And you sure look like a commander, oh – where're my manners!" She curtsied. "Welcome, Commander … uh …"

"There's no need to kiss my ass, I'm not a commander anymore." Jasper said.

"Really? With your energy level? And they cast you aside to this place?"

"What do you mean cast aside?" Connie asked.

"Oh, you're a peculiar looking gem; must've failed shape-shifting training or something." Blue noted. "Well, this's the Slave Village, all of us here are deemed unfit to live in the inner cities because we have nothing to offer in service to the Diamonds, so we toil away in the mines run by Bismuth." She pointed to a mountain range behind her.

"Wait, Bismuth is here?" Ruby asked.

"Well, no, she went missing a few years ago, but we still follow her strict schedule and do what we can." Blue Pearl said with a smile. "If we fail here as well, we get shattered."

"That's not something to smile about." Connie said.

"When you toil away for the Diamonds, you learn to take their bullshit and like it." A Pink Pearl frowned as she walked passed them. "You guys must've been in the highest rank in Region Blue to be this ignorant of what's happening on the ground."

"I'm sorry, but we're in a bit of a rush." Pearl interjected. "We're trying to find the inner city; do you know where it is?"

"You wanna find the inner city? I'm sorry, but that's not a good idea." Blue Pearl said.

"Who's tryna go to the inner city again?" An old gnarly male voice came.

"Oh, Old Topaz, they're just passersby, there're not from here." Blue Pearl said hastily to a large old yellow-skinned gem with a scar across his face clad in a dark coat.

"Slaves or not, yer not gonna get into the inner city." Old Topaz said.

"And why is that?" Pearl asked.

"Haven't ya heard? Rumor has it Black Diamond has awoken and his forces are coming this way."

"There're male diamonds?" Connie raised her brow. "And what do you mean by 'awoken'?"

"Wait, did you say Black Diamond?" Jasper asked with a frown.

"Yer heard me, soldier." Old Topaz growled.

"Then that means they want to wipe out this village." Jasper realized.

* * *

A PIECE of Jasper's ship fell out of a portal for transport ships and crashed into a small river in a park, instantly sinking to the bottom. Bubbles gathered on the surface and out of the depths came Lapis who carried Sapphire onto the grassy bank. "Don't get any hentai fantasies off this shit." She dropped the smaller gem on the ground.

"What? I just read it for amusement."

"Yeah, sure, tell yourself that." Lapis waved her hand, drying herself instantly and looked around, her face paling as she saw where they were. "Fuck."

"What's going on?" Sapphire turned around, fear written all over her face. "Oh man."

The two blue women tensed up as a large highly advanced, white and sterilized city filled with grey and white buildings and airships traversing the skies spread out around them. The people who they could see in the distance were all clad in white and all had some kind of prosthetic or cybernetic enhancements to them.

"We have to get out of here quickly before we get detected." Lapis said, shape-shifting and altering her face, changing her clothes as well to fit in with the residents.

"Region White." Sapphire said, doing the same. "This's probably the worst place to end up in right now."

"Wait, where's Peridot?" Lapis looked around.

"I don't think anyone else was in the ship." Sapphire looked to the river behind them.

"We need to find her." Lapis walked off.

"Hold on, we can't just go running blind; we'll get spotted that way."

"But what if she gets hurt? Or –,"

"Lapis, calm down, she'll be fine." Sapphire said, seeing the panic in her eyes subside. "You really care about her, don't you?"

"She's the most important thing to me." Lapis composed herself and walked toward the street nearby. "Let's find a way out of here."

Sapphire followed her onto the sidewalk of a street surrounding the small park, trying not to react to the curious glances some gems sent their way. Crossing the road and bemused the hovering traffic, the pair searched for the city's exit when they came upon a large lateral egg shaped chrome building with a line of gems at its entrance. Unable to resist their curiosity, they joined the queue and slowly entered the premises.

Sapphire and Lapis entered the building and found themselves on a tour of a science facility, immediately dismayed at their find when a hovering screen nearby scanned their brain waves. The two adept telepaths put up a false series of thoughts, masking both conscious and unconscious minds and continued with the tour group, unable to leave at this point without drawing attention to themselves. The facility's AI communicated with them psychically as they went, showing them some of Home World's recent advancements in bioscience.

Nothing particularly piqued their interest until they were shown a massive assembly hall where gemstones were ferried down a line of conveyer belts. The two struggled to mask the horror on their faces, only showing mild amusement on the outside, as they saw the stones forming into gem babies once they were sent under a machine that shone a light on them.

"And here is our new state of the art Gemification Lab designed by White Diamond herself!" The computer said with elation. "Unlike the clunky old gemification of living species, this new method creates gems from the ground up cell by cell! No soul, no resistance, all programming ready to serve Home World at optimum efficiency!"

The tour group erupted in applause upon the announcement, Lapis and Sapphire dumbfounded as the children were carried into tubes that connected to the upper floor into the waiting arms of excited assigned mothers. The realization donned on them the more the watched the cold display, Home World had gotten all the Gaia Energy they needed when they invaded Beach City long ago; they now had the power to create life itself!

* * *

"THEY WANT to wipe out the village? Then we've gotta get outta here, right?" Connie said in surprise as she stood amongst Jasper, Pearl, Helio, Ruby, Old Topaz, Blue and Pink Pearl in the middle of the Slave Village.

"There ain't no point leavin' here." Old Topaz said. "If Pink Diamond or her soldiers found us anywhere else, they'd shatter us for deserting our posts. If Home World deems us unfit to live period, then so be it."

"You can't be serious." Jasper frowned.

"Look around you," The old gem gestured to the haggard and tired villagers around him. "There's nothin' we can do to stop this even if we tried."

"You guys have a choice and we don't." Pink Pearl walked off. "If you weren't cast out here, then leave. If not, resign to your fate."

"No, I won't accept that." Pearl walked up to Blue and Pink Pearl, stopping them in their tracks. "You still have a choice; you can decide what lives you want to live."

"We had our entire lives planned out for us the moment we were born and assigned to our Diamonds and they got tired of us." Blue Pearl said. "We've already lived our lives and failed; all that awaits us is death."

"If you still believe in the fairy tales they taught you in education, then you worse off than us." Pink Pearl frowned. "You live to fall in line around here and if they tell you to die then you do it too; pearls exist to serve and that's all." She scoffed and walked off. "I'm surprised your Diamond didn't have you shattered already."

Pearl froze in place as the other two pearls walked off, thinking and turning to Jasper and the others. "We can't just leave them like this."

"It doesn't look like they want to be saved." Helio said.

"Well, we'll save them whether they want to be saved or not." Pearl said. "We need a plan."

* * *

WORRY PLAGUED Ruby's mind as she trekked the sandy deserts near the Slave Village, trying to clear her thoughts and calm down. They'd lost their ship, Jasper's armies were gone and they didn't know where the others ended up, but there still had a chance to stop Home World and get back to earth. There had to be.

She pondered this when she heard something crunch at her feet, looking down and backing away in terror as she'd stepped in the remains of a shattered gemstone! She raised her head and felt an immediate coldness fill her as she saw an endless sea of corpses splayed on the ground before her! The scent of blood and smoke was strong in the air, the ripped apart limbs and internal organs lay scattered making her hyperventilate as she tried to articulate what she was seeing.

A shuffling sound cut through her panic however and she turned to her right to see a gem dragging himself from under a pile of bodies, covered in blood and soot. Not thinking about it, Ruby rushed to the man's aid, moving the corpses over and pulling him up to a sitting position. The red-skinned gem had black hair, wore an eye-patch and was clad in a dark coat over a black shirt, pants and boots. He was covered in wounds, but was slowly healing and he looked up to thank her when the horrid sight unfolded before him.

"No, no, no!" The gem panicked, trying to stand and held back by his stinging wounds. "Patchy, Iron Arm! The Slave Village!"

"Hold on, just try and breathe." Ruby said. "What happened here?"

"There was a battle and I –," the gem grunted, holding his side and closing the open wound over his ribs. "The Moss were coming …" He hissed in pain. "They were going to invade the Slave Village and the rubies and I tried to stop them."

"The rubies?" Ruby raised her brow, looking up and realizing that all the corpses were dead ruby soldiers. "Oh God …"

"We tried to stop them, but they were too many." The gem spoke, clenching his fist and holding back tears. "They killed all of them."

"Where're the Moss now?" Ruby asked.

"They must have detoured and gone to wreak havoc elsewhere." The gem said. "The Moss never leave bodies behind, so we must've deterred them enough to change course."

"We have to get you back to the others." Ruby stood up. "Can you walk?"

"I think I can." The gem said, grunting as Ruby helped him up.

Ruby guided the gem through the pile of corpses, keeping an eye out for any others that moved and feeling out for any energy signatures, and she walked him out of the area, heading toward the Slave Village. The man felt too light despite being taller than her and he also looked familiar as she glanced at him, wondering if she'd met him before.

"Do I know you?" The gem finally spoke.

"I, don't know …" Ruby paused for a moment. "I don't think I've met you before, but you seem familiar for some reason."

"Then you must've met my twin sister Leggy." The gem said. "She's a soldier under White Commander Jasper, one of the top tiers in her squad." He smiled. "I haven't seen her in forever."

"Oh, I see the resemblance now." Ruby said, her heart sinking to her stomach as she remembered Leggy's final moments in Beach City.

"I'm Nalar, I was a former soldier under Pink Diamond herself."

"I'm Ruby." Ruby forced a smile.

"Just Ruby?"

"Apparently." Ruby said. "Nobody in my squad thought of anything unique to call me, so I just go by Ruby."

"There's no shame in that; I gave myself this name actually." Nalar chuckled. "You say you've met my sister? How long ago was this?"

"Oh, just a few months." Ruby said. "She's off-world though, but she and her squad were doing well."

"Well, at least she doesn't have to see me in such a sorry state." Nalar said. "I just hope I can see her soon one of these days."

"Yeah." Ruby felt a lump in her throat. "Yeah, she'll be happy to see you again."

Nalar huffed and stepped away from her, dusting himself off and walking with a slight limp. "Come on, let's get to the Village before nightfall."

* * *

CONNIE LAUGHED hysterically at the table as she, Pearl, Jasper and Helio had dinner under dim crystal light with Old Topaz and the locals in the community building of the small town. "And I told Yellow Diamond, 'why don't ya shove that medal up yer ass, you old hag!'" Old Topaz yelled in a drunken slur.

"It's not that funny of a story." Pearl chuckled uneasily as she rocked Blood Quartz then frowned at Connie who nearly fell over with laughter beside her. "See, I told you that you couldn't handle Home World alcohol."

"Ah, give her a break, she's old enough now." Jasper said from across the table. "But the old man's bullshittin', you can't say that to Yellow Diamond and live to tell the tale."

"I swear, Yellow and I were that close back in the day."

"Bullshit! The only friends Diamonds have are other diamonds, that's it." Jasper sat back. "Those degenerate shits are so blasé about people that they referred to us by numbers for years until the rubies made up names for the rest of us."

"Wait, the rubies are the ones who gave us names?" Pearl asked.

"Yeah, they're bad at counting, so they just called each other by their species and a unique trait and it spread to the rest of the military until everyone started doing it." Jasper said. "I'm lucky I'm the only Jasper who's just called 'Jasper' or life as a lieutenant in my squad would be hell."

"Hmm, seems that's another thing we have in common because I never got a prefix either." Helio said.

"Neither did I or the other Crystal Gems now that I think about it." Pearl stroked her chin.

"Well, it's not a perfect system, but it's better than the number system." Jasper said. "I'd hate to reach a point where we had gems with six digit names."

"Wait, you're the Crystal Gems?" Blue Pearl asked.

"Well, that's surprising." Pink Pearl said.

"Whoa, fer real? Shit, I didn't think such legends would stop by this lil ol' town." Old Topaz said.

"Hold up, you guys were legends?" Connie said, trying not to drop her cup.

"Well, shit, the Battle of Blue Palace, the Raid of Stormy Creak and the Great Gem War; the Crystal Gems all but led a revolution that pulled many gems out of their shitty servitude to those giant cunts!" Old Topaz said.

"Uh, I wouldn't be so loud, Old Topaz, someone might hear us." Blue Pearl said.

"Ah, nobody of high rank has been here since Bismuth went missing, so who cares honestly." Pink Pearl said.

"I wonder what number I was referred to as." Helio said, still stuck on the previous topic, then chuckled. "I kind of forgot."

"Wait, you're still on that?" Pink Pearl said.

"I was 717." Jasper said.

"1216." Pearl said.

"958." Nalar said as he entered the room, drawing attention to himself and Ruby who was not too far behind.

"Nalar! It's been a few days, where've you and the rubies been?" Old Topaz asked.

Nalar tried to answer when he saw the smiling faces at the table, unwilling to ruin the mood. "Uh, they decided to scout ahead to stop the Moss from getting closer."

"Ah, that's good." Old Topaz said then huffed. "Man, if only I still had my strength." He tapped a large photon axe that hung on the wall behind him. "If me and the boys were still together, we could've taken out the Moss already." He crossed his arms. "Amber Topaz, Lily Carnelian, Undying Ametrine, Rogue Zircon, Wise Jasper, rest their souls."

Jasper frowned as she heard the names he spoke, rising from the table. "Excuse me for a sec." She left the room, worrying Helio who saw the shock on her face.

Helio walked off and followed her and Old Topaz raised his brow, tasting the soup and shrugging. "Guess some people can't handle spicy food."

Jasper stepped into a nearby hallway and came to a stop, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily as it hit her. Helio followed her and raised his brow in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Those soldiers Old Topaz mentioned, those were my old war buddies." Jasper said.

"And what of it? Did they die?"

"Yes." Jasper frowned. "I'm the one who killed them."

Back in the dining hall, Pink Pearl drank the last of her booze and wiped her lip, trying not cough. "Well, if you Crystal Gems are so great, I'd like to see it for myself once we get outta here."

"I thought you guys wanted to stay." Connie said.

"Fuck that; now that we know who you are, we're not just gonna back down and give up."

"You Crystal Gems have done so much for the little guy, we can't just roll over after all you've accomplished." Old Topaz said.

Pearl looked around the room, nearly tearing up with joy at their admiration of them. "Thanks, you guys."

The group continued eating when the doors burst open as Carnelian rushed into the room. "We've got an emergency! We've got an emergency!"

"Carnelian, what're you blubbering on about now? This's isn't the time for games." Old Topaz frowned.

"The Moss are coming!"

* * *

MEANWHILE IN space, loud music blasted in the Capsule Corp spaceship as it soared through space, annoying 24-year-old Trunks who moved through the main area cluttered with snack packets and cans into the cockpit of the ship where 23-year-old Goten sat at his chair with his feet on the control panel.

"Goten, what the hell are you doing!?"

"What? it's just Post Malone." Goten sat up.

"Get your damn feet of the controls!" Trunks pushed his legs off and sat beside him, checking on the scanners. "Dammit, I can't believe Goku forced me to carry you along."

"Hey, you know you couldn't pull off this mission on your own."

"I'd have found Kale and Caulifla already if wasn't for you fooling around!" Trunks yanked out Goten's phone from the computer and tossed it aside.

"Hey, I just bought that!" Goten rushed to pick up the mobile.

Trunks shook his head and checked on the ship's onboard computer, excitement spreading on his face as he saw its readings. "Hey, the ship's detected two Ki energy signatures on a nearby planet, and they're pretty strong too."

"Man, you cracked the screen protector!" Goten whined as he picked up the phone.

"Dude focus, we just found Caulifla and Kale." Trunks said.

"Whoa, seriously?" Goten walked back into the room.

"It says the planet they're on is called … Home World?" Trunks became puzzled. "What kinda name is that?"

"Whatever it is, put this ship in high gear and let's find those to chicks!" Goten said excitedly. "I heard they were pretty hot, bruh."

Trunks groaned. "I wish this was a solo mission."

* * *

IN REGION White, White Diamond stepped into a large room in one of her various laboratories and slid icons around on a holographic screen before her, dismissing it as she came upon to two glass pods connected to various machinery in the room where Kale and Caulifla lay unconscious. The Diamond looked at them curiously as the containment units scanned their energy readings as the women went into their Super Saiyan forms while out cold.

"Perfect." White Diamond said.

* * *

And there you go, chapter one! Hopefully it wasn't too long and unfortunately, I feel some chapters later on may get even longer. There's so much we wanted to cover, so please bear with us if it gets a little weighty.

Don't forget to leave a review, follow or favorite and come back for the next chapter "The Moss". Thanks for reading.


	11. Home World, Ch2 - The Moss

**HOME WORLD**

 **Chapter 2: The Moss**

PEARL'S EYES shone as she looked into the darkness of the night whilst standing amongst Jasper, Helio, Ruby, Connie and Carnelian in front of the community building, seeing through as clear as day as she searched the area for the Moss Carnelian seen before. The once lively town was now completely silent, the gems cowering inside their poorly boarded up makeshift buildings they called homes as they awaited the terrors they heard rumors about. Failing to see anything, Pearl turned to Carnelian who clung to her spear that she'd patched up from before.

"Are you sure you saw the Moss?" Pearl asked.

"I swear I did! It was green and it was moving around a bunch." The little gem replied. "It didn't seem to spot me when I spotted it near the village, so I rushed back to tell ya."

"If they're here, we won't be able to detect them even if we tried." Helio frowned. "They have no heat or energy signature, we'd only spot them when we see them."

"Well, that sounds like a headache." Connie frowned, clutching the hilt of Rose's Sword.

"Okay, you gotta go back inside with the others." Pearl told Carnelian.

"And what about y'all?" Old Topaz said as he stepped out of the building. "You don't wanna fight these things and have 'em spread everywhere. Let 'em just move past when they don't detect anything here."

"Guess your info on the Moss isn't up to scratch, huh, old man." Jasper said. "The Moss don't need an energy signature, they can sense gemstones – if they're here, they'll find us and attack us."

Old Topaz huffed then smirked. "Then give those little shits hell." He headed back inside with Carnelian.

Jasper turned to Helio. "I'll need to bubble Blood."

Helio nodded, handing over the toddler who looked at him curiously. "Right."

Jasper smiled as she took her baby in her arms, moving her hand over his chest gemstone. "I'll see you soon, little one." She pressed her thumb on his crystal, fazing into it slightly, and caused the child to poof and retract into the stone. Holding the stone firmly in hand, she fused it into her arm and stepped forward. "Alright, let's do this."

Connie raised her brow in shock. "What did she just –,"

"Now's not the time for questions." Ruby shut her down.

Pearl, Jasper, Helio, Ruby and Connie stepped away from the community building into the center of the Slave Village, the gems able to see in the dark via other light spectrums and Connie through her suit's helmet, and they looked around, wondering what was going on. They looked around on the ground, at every building around them for a bit, beginning to question if they'd been pranked by Carnelian when a shrill cry cut through the air to their right.

The noise caught their attention and another scream came from their left in the distance, followed by a few others that quickly turned into a chaotic noise that filled the small town. Connie drew her blade, wondering which sound to follow when a massive mass of Moss came barreling down toward the five up ahead, splitting up rapidly into Mosslings that started tearing into nearby houses!

"It's them!" Connie cried.

"Everybody split up!" Jasper ordered and charged onward.

Jasper's body radiated in energy as she burst forward and collided right with the Mosslings, flying further into the town and taking on the hordes of Mosslings. Connie tried to assess the monsters and Ruby stayed behind her, unsure of what to do when a large Bloodstone rushed past them and smashed through a Mossling with a punch, jolting them out of their thoughts. Seeing Helio hover in the air conjuring the mindless soldiers, they shook themselves out of it.

"Connie, Ruby, you two help evacuate the villagers." Pearl said, her body glowing as she summoned seven clones around her. "Helio, Jasper and I will try and hold these guys off as long as we can and keep them from reaching the community building."

"You got it." Connie nodded and rushed towards a nearby house when a cluster of Moss washed right over her, swallowing her whole!

"Connie!" Ruby cried out.

* * *

A BLUE beam of energy tore through the orange dust-filled skies of a far-off planet, the rays of energy bombarding Steven's body as he tried to shield himself with nothing but his arms crossed before him. The Super Saiyan unleashing the attack, now using one arm, hovered in the air a few feet ahead of him, chuckling as the young boy was barely able to move.

"Come on, whatcha doing?" Goku called out.

"Hey, a Kamehameha isn't just a regular Ki blast, alright!" Steven yelled.

"Well, I won't let up until you can break outta it."

Steven frowned as he tried to think, starting to panic as his jacket began to singe. Reacting quickly, he teleported and Goku smirked as he saw this, spinning back and expecting to see the man there, but found nothing. Perplexed, the martial artist looked around when three pink energy balls crashed against his back, sending him hurtling through the air!

Catching himself, Goku smiled as he saw Steven flying toward him and sped toward the boy, teleporting haphazardly through the sky to test him. Steven saw through this and matched his speed, catching up at several points in the air and leaving sonic bursts behind them, appearing finally on the ground in the wasteland and locking fists, breaking apart the landscape and demolishing two nearby mountains in their wake!

Steven returned Goku's smug look and the older man laughed, returning to his base form. "Good going, Steven, good going."

"Hey, are you gonna show me your god form?" Steven asked.

"Nope."

"Oh, come on, I'm on par with your Super Saiyan form." Steven said, holding up his sleeve. "I mean look, I took your best attack without a scratch."

"You're pretty strong, stronger than most actually, but you're only on par with Super Saiyan 1." Goku turned to him. "You'd struggle with 2, 3 then there's –,"

"Wait, that wasn't Super Saiyan 2?"

"Nope."

"Well, you gotta show me more of your power then." Steven said.

"Hey, I'm tryna get you to learn how to control your energy, not to get as strong as I am." Goku chuckled. "And even if I was, we'd need a Time Chamber and it'd still take a while." He turned to Steven. "Just keep training and who knows, maybe one day you might even surpass me."

"Really?" Steven asked excitedly.

"Sure, I –,"

"Goku!" A disembodied male voice called out.

"Whis?" Goku asked, touched his temple.

"Goku, I'll need your assistance if you'd be so kind." The Angel said telepathically. "We've got a situation on our hands."

"I'm on it, Whis." Goku said, turning to Steven. "Sorry, Steven, I gotta run."

"Wait, where're ya going?" Steven asked.

"It's important and I have to return to earth." Goku said. "I guess this's goodbye for now."

"But, aren't you gonna train me anymore?"

"You've learned a lot these past few months Steven and you've mastered how to control your energy." Goku placed his hand on his shoulder. "I trained you so you could better handle your powers, not to get as strong as I am. You have a lot of potential; it's up to you now to figure out what to do with it."

Steven huffed. "Well, I hope we can meet again someday."

"You're not going back to earth?" Goku asked. "I thought you're from there? You don't have family or anything there?"

Steven hesitated. "I've got a few things to deal with first."

Goku looked at him curiously then smiled. "Well, see ya later, Steven." He touched his forehead with his index and middle fingers and vanished.

Steven stretched out as soon as he felt Goku's energy signature completely disappear and he walked to the edge of the hill they were on, sitting down and taking a breather. He looked out into the blue grassy valley of the monster-filled planet, still amazed at how some of the mountains in the area floated in the air while everything else seemed to obey the same laws of gravity as earth. He began to think about Connie and the others now that Goku had mentioned home, wondering what they'd been up to all these years. It was surprising that years had passed since he left and was a little worrying that he didn't feel the need to return to the Crystal Gems either.

He searched his mind for a moment, wondering what to do next or where to go when he felt someone tap his shoulder. "Hey, Steven."

Steven yelped and fell over at the sudden contact, shifting over to see an orange-skinned, red-haired woman with green eyes clad in a revealing purple suit bending over to him with a smile. "Oh, hey –," He coughed and deepened his voice. "Hey, Starfire."

"What're you doing all the way out on this abandoned planet?" Starfire stood up and looked around.

"Being an idiot as usual." Kevin Levin, a tall muscular man with black hair clad in dark clothing and heavy boots, walked passed them while looking at a handheld scanner.

"What in the world was that energy we sensed on the way here?" Gwen Tennyson, a red-haired woman wearing a long red coat over black trousers and boots followed after Kevin. "It felt like there was a star inside the planet."

"Oh yeah, I met this saiyan named Goku and he'd been training me here for a bit." Steven rose to his feet.

"You met a saiyan?" Kevin asked in disbelief.

"You're joking right? That race went extinct long ago." Gwen said. "Hell, I don't even believe they existed to begin with."

"No way, you actually met Goku?" Ben Tennyson, a brunette-haired man dressed in a green jacket, black shirt, blue jeans and sneakers with a large watch on his right arm, stepped out of space ship parked nearby. "Man, I'd have loved to meet the guy; he's one of the strongest beings in the multiverse."

"Ben!" Steven hugged him. "Man, it's been so long!" He pulled back and looked at him in surprise. "What happened to you?"

"Uh, you left us on Xandar a few months ago, remember?" Ben said. "Jeez, I forgot how forgetful you are sometimes."

"Oh, yeah." Steven said awkwardly. "I kinda got carried away training."

"Mmm, I've noticed." Starfire eyed Steven as she moved up to him. "Your energy's got a lot of weight behind it now, it's almost smothering."

"Uh," Steven blushed and laughed nervously.

"Guys, we've got a problem here." Gwen said, drawing the other's attention as she looked to the lower planes below. "I think we found it here as well."

"What is it?" Ben walked up to her then frowned as he saw what she was referring to, "The Moss."

Steven came up to the edge of the cliff and saw a large mass of Moss moving over the ground below, rapidly increasing in size and heading toward a city in the distance. "What is that?"

"They're a powerful, all-consuming bioweapon Plumber orbital surveillance picked up images of on multiple planets in this quadrant and we were sent along with others to eradicate it." Ben said.

"It destroys everything it comes in contact with and destroys the planet once it's done, and can't be detected with anything except visual confirmation." Kevin said. "It's the perfect weapon."

"You know who's behind this?" Steven asked.

"A distant planet called Home World." Starfire answered.

* * *

HEAT AND immense pain spread throughout Connie's body as the Moss swarmed all over her, eating away at her flesh and sapping her of her energy. She struggled as they tugged at her from all sides, trying desperately to grab Rose's sword on her back when she felt a sudden rush of air as the Moss fell apart, revealing Pearl who pulled her out of the entity that spread over the ground.

"Connie, are you alright?" Pearl asked, looking at the burns on the girl's body.

"No, I –," Connie tried to say when her suit suddenly reformed and her wounds slowly began to heal. "Well, I'm okay I guess." She chuckled in surprise.

"Seems Helio's science isn't entirely destructive." Pearl said, looking at a Bloodstone nearby as it pulled a gem woman out from a pile of rubble. "Though I can't say the same about his wife." She huffed as Jasper ripped a Mossling in half with her bare hands and slammed it into the earth, smashing it to bits as she broke a massive hole through the ground!

"I'll be more careful next time." Connie said, drawing her blade and running off.

Connie moved through a small street behind her, cutting down three Mosslings that tried to get in her way, and she came upon a house where more of the creatures gathered. She looked through the window of the small home, seeing three gems trembling inside as the monsters tore the walls down, and she held out her hand, channeling Gaia Energy out of her arm that spread out like a large vine. Drawing out the photonic whip, Connie lashed it against the ground, sending out a shockwave that launched the beasts into the air and she thrust her hand out at them, shooting the energy tube that split into smaller tendrils, piercing the Mosslings and incinerating them instantly!

Elsewhere in the town, Ruby chucked a fireball at a cluster of Moss that began to dig its way into the ground and dismantle the street, leaping at the entity with an electricity charged fist and punching the creature, smashing it to pieces. She looked around, seeing patches of Moss that spread all over nearby houses and remembering how the security outpost in space was destroyed earlier, quickly rising to her feet and failing to notice a large Mossling collecting behind her! The monster swung at her with a jagged arm too quickly for her to react when a transparent energy disc shot through its chest, ripping it apart!

Ruby turned as she heard the monster collapse behind her and smiled as she saw who it was that saved her. "Nalar!"

"Heh, sorry, my spells are a little weak." The ruby said as the magic circle in his hands fizzled out.

"Wait, shouldn't you be healing after what happened earlier?" Ruby asked.

"I'll be fine." Nalar said, grunting in pain and worrying the red woman.

Carnelian ran toward a Mossling nearby the two, screaming wildly as she held out her little spear and swung at the creature while it wasn't looking. She shut her eyes as the blade made contact with the monster, not realizing that it hadn't made a dent, and Nalar conjured a light disc inside the creature, causing it to fall apart. Carnelian opened her eyes and smiled as the Mossling lay dead at her feet, running off to attack another one across from her. Nalar chuckled and followed the small gem as she 'fought' more of the Moss and Ruby looked on in amusement, charmed by his kindness.

A Pearl clone rushed past Ruby however and clashed with a Mossling with its sword, hacking off the monster's arm and swiftly slashing it in half! The doppelganger looked to the sky to see the original Pearl floating above the town, conjuring a large spear in her hand. Looking out into a street before her, the pale woman took aim with her lance and hurled it down at a group of Mosslings that attacked homes below. The weapon split into a volley of smaller javelins and rained upon the monsters from above, erupting in explosions of light that burned them completely!

In front of the community building, Old Topaz cut down a Mossling with his photonic axe, panting as he stood up and looked at the small town become overrun with the monsters. He steeled himself, ready to fight another creature as it ran toward him when Jasper crashed onto it and blasted it with an energy beam from her hand, walking off the downed creature and moving up to the man.

"So, how're things looking out here?" She asked.

"These critters keep comin', but I've held 'em off for now." The old gem said almost breathless.

"You've gotta sit this one out, old man."

"I gotta defend this place; if I sit by, everyone inside will die."

"We've got this under control." Jasper said.

"Ya sure ya do? 'Cause the entire village's covered already." Old Topaz pointed at a building nearby completely covered in a mass of Moss.

Jasper growled. "These things are fucking weak, but they just keep coming." She cracked her knuckles. "But, we'll find a way to take 'em out for good, don't worry."

A bubbling sound interrupted them however and Jasper turned to see the Mossling she'd blasted on the ground slowly reform and turn red! She frowned as she saw this, realizing that all the Moss she and the others had taken down were coming back alive the same way, doubling the number of enemies they were facing! She unleashed her aura from her body and tried to fly off when she heard a loud explosion, looking back and seeing a wall of the community building collapse as a giant Mossling broke through!

She ran toward it, but tripped over as more of the entity wrapped around her leg, pulling her to the ground! She fired at it, freeing herself, but looked onward to see cracks all over the ground, realizing that the Moss had rooted itself beneath the town! "Shit."

Jasper heard screams from the community center behind her and she flew into the building, shooting a hole through the giant Mossling inside and looking to see the gems were unharmed. She rushed outside when she felt a tremor spread through the town, looking to her left and seeing a swathe of Moss hoist a house into the air and rip right through it, killing the gems inside! She frowned as she wondered what to do next and saw several Bloodstones nearby break apart as the green entity pierced into them as it seeped from the ground!

Jasper looked below her and saw a green liquid starting to rise from the ground as the Moss spread further. "Y'all need to get outta here!" Old Topaz said, hacking down a monster to his left.

"What? We're not leaving you like this." Jasper said.

"There's no saving this place anymore." Old Topaz said. "You can't get sucked into this village's problems."

"These things are weak, we can take them out."

"Jasper, look around, the village's overrun."

"No, we don't give up." Jasper unleashed her aura and prepared to fight when she saw several houses nearby collapse underground one by one, freezing in her tracks. Her face paled as the Mosslings began to collect and spread beneath the ground, swarming over Helio and Pearl who were nearby, completely immobilizing them.

"You have to get out while you still can." Old Topaz said. "You can't stop the Diamonds if you get caught up in all of this." Jasper thought this through.

In a street nearby, Pearl struggled as the liquid Moss began to pull her underground, nearly submerging her when a clone of hers grabbed her hand and pulled her out, letting her levitate in the air. She breathed heavily as she felt burns spread on her body and turned to see Helio getting sucked into the entity like she was, raising her arms and pulling him out telekinetically. She looked around as she held him up and saw Ruby and Nalar on the ground below.

"Ruby! Ruby, we need to get outta –," Pearl tried to say when the town split in half, moving Ruby and Nalar further away her!

Nalar and Ruby were knocked off their feet from the aftershock and Nalar panicked as he saw Carnelian holding onto a building frightfully. "Carnelian! Get back here, it's not safe!"

"N-no, I can still fight them!" She mustered, beginning to tear up as fear took over.

"Carnelian, listen to him! We can't take them on like this!" Ruby yelled.

Carnelian whimpered as she saw a house break down near her and she slowly nodded. "I'm coming!" She gulped, inching her way toward them as the ground started to tilt, making harder for her to move. Ruby got to her feet and ran toward the girl who reached out to her, slowly closing the distance when the Moss broke out from below Carnelian and wrapped around her!

"Carnelian!" Ruby cried, trying to shoot fire at the Moss when the earth snapped in half again, splitting them further apart.

Carnelian struggled against the pull of the Moss, trying to get to Ruby when the entity stabbed through her chest, drawing blood from her mouth! Nalar's body fell limp as he saw the little girl impaled, falling to his knees as her gemstone shattered and the Moss sucked her into the earth! Ruby panted as she looked around, seeing the town break down and fall into a widening abyss, separating her and Nalar from Pearl, Helio and Jasper who were on the other side!

* * *

SEVERAL PURPLE-skinned aliens ran about in a panic as a cluster of Moss moved through their city on the monster planet, fleeing for their lives as the entity began to root itself into the nearby buildings and raze them to the ground! A woman tripped as she fled and screamed in terror as a Mossling raised its arm to strike her down when a pink energy ball burst through the creature's chest, burning it to bits!

"Try to get somewhere safe, we've got this!" Steven yelled from above and flew into the fray, engaging the Mossling horde.

Running through a nearby street, Ben – who had transformed into Diamondhead – came up to a mass of Moss and slammed his fist against the ground, sending out a line of diamonds that pierced through the creature and broke it apart. He felt the earth rumble and turned to see a building collapsing, quickly running to the rescue when Gwen flew in and raised her hands into the air, holding up the edifice with telepathy! Chanting a spell, the sorceress summoned two photonic pillars beneath the structure that slowly put it back in an upright position and she cast another spell, binding the building together with magical energy.

Ben smiled as his cousin flew past and jerked as the road broke apart, looking to his left to Kevin who ripped a cluster of Moss out of the ground. Grabbing the entity, Kevin absorbed the creature's material and transformed into it, thrusting his arm up and forcing more Moss up to the surface, shattering it instantly! Focusing on the task at hand, Ben tapped on the large watch on his chest, transforming into XLR8 and sped off, dashing past Steven who cut down a Mossling with an energy axe.

Channeling his energy, Steven enlarged the lance and cast it forward, tearing through several Mosslings up ahead and guiding the weapon photokinetically. In a nearby street, Starfire descended to the ground with a twirl, sending out a wave of green plasma that hacked several beasts that were around her! Seeing Steven's javelin fly toward her, the orange woman grabbed the weapon and shoved it through the gravel below; creating an explosion that vaporized the green mass underground!

Steven moved up to Starfire. "You think that's all of them?"

"No; according to Plumber Intel, there should be a lot more of the bioweapon still lurking around." Star crossed her arms. "This battle could prove quite troublesome."

"Not for long." Gwen said as she hovered past them, her body glimmering as her aura rose.

Chanting a spell, Gwen wove her arms above her head and created a massive purple magic circle above the city, creating a vacuum like pull that began to draw in the Moss below! The ground shook violently and Steven, Starfire, Kevin and Ben looked around in surprise as the green entity was sucked up into the air and collected around the light disc, getting bound to it and electrocuted as they made contact!

"I'm gonna need some help here!" Gwen struggled as her energy began to wane.

"I got it!" Steven shot into the air.

Charging energy into his palm, Steven forged an energy ball that quickly expanded in size and he chucked it at the green mass in the air, immediately creating a force field above him and the others! Gwen looked at him curiously when the energy ball collided with the Moss and erupted in a massive explosion that caused gale force winds that nearly knocked her back despite being behind the barrier! Moving her hands away as the blast dispersed, the red-haired girl looked on in amazement as the Moss was completely destroyed, descending to the ground.

"So, was that all of 'em?" Steven asked.

"No, more are on their way." Gwen said.

"Really? Oh, come on!" Steven followed her.

"Wow, Steven, that was amazing!" Starfire looked at the smoke in the sky above.

"Heh, nah, it was nothing." Steven rubbed the back of his neck shyly.

"What do you mean there's still more of this junk? Didn't you draw it all up from the ground?" Kevin asked.

"The Moss are capable of regeneration, though I'm not sure to what extent." Gwen said. "I think the only way we can stop this as it the source."

"You want us to go to Home World?" Ben pocketed his hands. "That's a little ballsy, even the Lantern Corp are afraid of setting foot there."

"I'm sensing an immense energy signature on this planet." Gwen said, looking to the valley to her right. "And I think it might be the source of the Moss."

* * *

CONNIE BREATHED heavily as she pulled herself up to the top of the hill, looking up and sighing in relief as Pearl offered her a hand from above. Taking her hand, the girl was pulled upward and she turned to the Slave Village in the distance behind them, her heart sinking as she saw the small town fall apart as the Moss completely swallowed it and the gems in it underground! She looked to Pearl, Helio and Jasper who were on the hill with her, the latter who sat by herself in silence, and she began to panic.

"Wait, where's Ruby?" Connie asked.

"We got separated from them, but she was with Nalar the last time I saw her." Pearl said, huffing. "This's a disaster."

"Not looking into the Moss when they were being developed by the Diamonds was a total oversight on my part." Helio crossed his arms. "Pink Diamond was at the head of the experiments and she wasn't as successful a scientist as White Diamond, so I didn't think she'd pull this off. Now that it's been awakened along with Black Diamond, our problems just got far worse."

"Who is Black Diamond exactly?" Connie asked.

"He's the first gem with an artificial intelligence and is more powerful than most gem commanders, though still weaker than the Diamonds themselves." Helio explained. "When colonization of a planet fails or the Diamonds deem its resources or inhabitants worthless, they send him to simply destroy the planet and move on."

"So, the Diamonds want to destroy Home World?"

"I'm not sure, but we do know that they want to wipe the slate clean of any gems they see unfit to live, so they've awakened the Moss." Helio said.

"We need to come up with a plan." Pearl turned to him. "We can't let more gems get killed off like this."

"But how can we stop this? We don't know where the others are and we have no idea how to actually take out the Moss." Connie said.

"There's no point in trying to stop the Moss." Jasper finally spoke.

"What? But they're murdering gems." Pearl frowned.

"The Diamonds intercepted our plans before they even began and have taken out the armies I had posted off-world before I could bring them back together. We've lost this fight." Jasper said.

"So we should just give up?"

"No, but Helio and I are leaving this planet." Jasper rose to her feet, revealing Blood Quartz whom she held in her arms, and she pressed a button on her gauntlet, activating a space suit that covered her from head to toe.

"Wait, where're you going?" Pearl asked.

"To get more power." Jasper said as she walked off and activated Blood's space suit. "We'll meet up again at the center of Region Pink when we're done."

"Wait, what're you talking about?" Pearl asked, raising her brow as Helio donned his own suit and shot into the air, following Jasper who'd flown off. "Hey, wait!" She called out, but the two gems had already gone.

"Did they just ditch us here?" Connie squinted as the two disappeared into the sky.

"I don't know, but we'll stick to the plan." Pearl said, descending down the side of the hill. "Follow me."

"What's at the center of Region Pink exactly?" Connie quickly followed her.

"The home of Pink Diamond, my former master."

* * *

TRUNKS CAREFULLY navigated his ship as he and Goten drew closer to Home World, his mind whirring with thoughts as he tried to think of how they should approach their mission. From the rumors he'd heard, the Diamonds were not beings you'd want to cross paths with and if they had Kale and Caulifla, he wondered how they'd make it out alive. Fear quickly took hold of him as he remembered the stories he'd heard from Thor back at Avengers Headquarters, of how they'd come across Thanos years ago and fought him to a stalemate and how they'd taken out other cosmic invaders in the past.

He tried to calm himself when Goten interrupted his thoughts. "I'm bored!" The raven-haired man beside him groaned.

"Hey, I'm trying to focus here!" Trunks yelled at him. "Do you realize that we might end up facing one of the biggest threats in the known universe if we screw this up?"

"Yeah, yeah, something about some giant bitches or some shit, who cares."

"The Diamonds managed to go toe to toe with Thanos! If we mess this up, we're dead." Trunks said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, man."

"You know, these past few months, all you've done is just sit around listening to music, eat trash and doing nothing to aid the mission." Trunks put the ship on autopilot.

"Well, how am I gonna help? I don't know how this ship works anyway." Goten sat back.

"You could at least clean up once in a while or help navigate the ship; you went through flight school just like I did."

"Well, you're doing a good job if you ask me; I don't see what else I can do." Goten shrugged.

"Y'know what, I –," Trunks tried to say when Jasper and Helio flew past their ship, causing it to swerve out of control!

"What the?!" Goten yelled as he fell off his seat.

"Something just went past us!" Trunks took the controls and stabilized the ship, looking at the radar in amazement as it tracked Jasper and Helio leaving the star system. "What the hell was moving that fast?"

"Uh, Trunks …" Goten pointed outside.

Trunks raised his head and immediately froze in surprise as he saw the debris of the security outposts floating around Home World. He slowed the ship down and maneuvered through the maze of carnage, stunned as torn apart and burned body parts drifted past them. He checked the ship's computers and became more unnerved as he saw that it detected Kale and Caulifla's energy signatures on the planet's surface.

"What happened here?" Goten asked.

"I don't know, but we're here." Trunks said. "This's Home World."

"But, didn't you say the Diamonds were super powerful? Who wrecked the place like this?"

"How would I know?" Trunks huffed. "Let's make our descent."

Trunks ignited the ship's thrusters and entered the planet's atmosphere, steeling himself for what horrors he might witness when he landed when he saw a massive beautiful city in the distance. The white and chrome futuristic metropolis shone in the middle of a beautiful valley, literally glimmering against the aurora sky lit by two suns. The sight completely caught him off-guard, but he remained apprehensive, setting the ship in the middle of a small forest far from the city to shroud their arrival.

Goten smiled as he saw small six-winged birds and furry creatures scamper about as they landed and quickly rose to his feet and headed for the door as Trunks shut off the engines. "Where're you going?" The purple-haired man asked.

"I'm gonna check the area out." Goten said.

"No, you're staying here." Trunks got up. "I'm taking recon, so you watch the ship."

"Aw, what?" Goten whined.

"We can't have our only way home destroyed, so you keep watch while I try to figure out a way to get into the city." Trunks strapped on a gauntlet on his left arm. "Kale and Caulifla are in that city, so I'll try to find an entry point then we sneak in and get them out before we get spotted, so keep watch."

"Fine." Goten frowned and headed into the cockpit as Trunks opened the vessel's doors and leapt out.

Goten grumbled to himself as he took his seat and watched as Trunks flew through the forest, leaving him alone inside the vessel. He hummed to himself and looked around, immediately regretting leaving his laptop behind and missing the internet as his phone couldn't pick up a signal this far from earth. Five minutes passed and he quickly got bored, grabbing his phone and drifting away to his favorite songs.

As he sat back and bobbed his head to the music however, he failed to see a white-robed guard fly passed the windshield and only jerked up when the gem blasted a hole into the hull of the ship! "Hey, what're you –," Goten turned around and immediately ducked as the gem woman fired a laser from her spear and blew up the cockpit, causing the ship to erupt into flames!

Trunks stopped in his tracks and turned to see a massive fire in the trees where he'd left Goten. "What the hell?" He quickly flew back to the ship.

Goten squinted through the fires and jumped out of the way as another guard shoved a spear at him, quickly grabbing the staff and punching him in the gut, sending him flying out of the vessel. Rising into the air, Goten looked around and panicked as the ship was in pieces and screamed in pain as a larger ship fired at him from above, driving him into the earth!

Goten tumbled on the ground and rolled to a stop, looking up to see several white-robed gems rushing at him with two large ships behind them. "Well, Trunks' gonna be mad."

Goten engaged the attackers, kicking two aside swiftly and firing a ki blast at three others up ahead, causing an explosion that knocked several more behind them off their feet! He smirked and bounced in place, dismissing his enemies when a large six-legged beast bashed him from behind, sending him flying through a tree! The rider raised her arm and summoned more creatures from the forest, surrounding the saiyan from all sides.

Goten looked around in a panic, wondering what to do next as nearly 50 guards and beasts and a ship above immediately swarmed around him and blocked his means of escape. "Final Flash!" Trunks yelled and unleashed a massive blast of energy that blazed through half of the attackers, revealing himself as he rushed toward Goten in his Super Saiyan form. "What the hell did you do?"

"I don't know, they just came outta nowhere!" Goten said as he got to his feet.

"You weren't keeping watch, were you?"

"Is this really the time to start lecturing me?" Goten snapped at him then frowned as the gems that were hit quickly healed their wounds. "This's bad."

"If we fight them, we'll draw more attention to ourselves and if we just escape, the entire city will be on alert if they aren't already." Trunks said.

"What do we do then?"

Trunks sifted his mind when a massive portal opened beneath them and began rapidly sucking the gems and beasts into it, nearly pulling him and Goten along with them! The two saiyans quickly ascended into the air and watched in awe as the gateway swallowed their enemies and vanished, leaving the forest immediately quiet as it was before the attack. They looked at each other in surprise when a purple van flew toward them, confusing them as they heard people inside quarrelling.

"Why'd you use the portal generator? You used up a huge chunk of the ship's power!" A female voice yelled.

"Well, we wanted to help them right? What else was I supposed to do?" A man responded.

"You were supposed to sit back and let me handle it! For crying out loud, it's like dealing with an infant!"

"Hey, you should respect your elders, young lady."

"I am much older than you, human!" The girl snapped back.

"Huh?"

The girl groaned and opened the door. "Hey, you two need a ride? The human says you're most likely friendlies." Peridot said.

"Don't worry, I'm a Plumber!" Greg called out from inside the vehicle.

Trunks and Goten looked at each other curiously.

* * *

LOUD CRASHES and bubbling sounds emanated from a massive abyss on the monster planet that stretched out for several meters, a pit so wide that the bottom was invisible to Steven as he looked into it. Frowning as the noises continued to echo; he stepped back and turned to Gwen. "Is this where the energy signature you were talking about is?"

"Yes." Gwen said.

"What the hell is even down there?" Ben chucked a rock into the hole, listening for it to hit the bottom.

"Yeah, and what exactly dug this all up?" Kevin looked around at the huge mounds of rock and soil that lay around the pit.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's very powerful." Gwen answered.

Ben squinted, surprise spreading on his face. "It still hasn't hit the bottom."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to find out what's down there." Steven said, immediately jumping down.

At the bottom of the abyss, several Mosslings clawed against the rock frantically, tirelessly digging further and further underground as they headed for the planet's core. A few feet above them was a dark being with pure black skin that hovered above them, his eyes set below at his underlings as they followed his psychic orders. He was Black Diamond.

* * *

There ya go, chapter 2! Sorry I took so long to update, I got really sick and some other stuff came up that kept me from writing anything for a while.

If you're enjoying the story so far, check out our Deviantart page or Tumblr page (/realdoneuniverse) for our character designs for Steven and Connie as well as other character designs for previous books! Be sure to follow so you don't miss any more designs and follow this book so you don't miss any new chapters when we update.

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Thanks for reading and await our next chapter 'New Gems'. See ya next time.


	12. Home World, Ch3 - New Gems

**HOME WORLD**

 **Chapter 3: New Gems**

THE TWO suns slowly set on the capital of Region White, the bustling city not dropping a beat as its streets were lively as ever, only changing into a medley of color as the city lights came on. The tour of the science facility Sapphire and Lapis were in slowly came to a close, the two women lagging behind as the visitors took their leave and taking a last look around the building.

"This's a bad idea." Sapphire said to Lapis telepathically. "If we let one of our thoughts slip out, we'll get spotted and surrounded."

"We have to find out what else White Diamond is up to." Lapis replied. "Jasper's armies are gone and the last thing we want is to get caught off-guard by another one of the Diamond's secret weapons."

Sapphire paused for a bit. "So how do we do this?"

"Neither of us can create clones like Pearl, so we have to get away from the tour group ourselves." Lapis said and then glanced around. "How good are you at shape-shifting?"

"You read my mind." Sapphire smiled.

Making sure the hovering screen was nowhere nearby, the two gems squeezed their way to the center of the tour group so they were surrounded, all the while shrinking their height until they were half as tall. Once they were completely shrouded amongst the others, they transformed into small pools of water and maneuvered their way between the other gems' feet, leaving the room they were in.

Lapis and Sapphire made their way into a nearby corridor, the latter shape-shifting back into her normal state, and Lapis moved her way up the walls, placing several small black balls along the ceiling. Sapphire looked on curiously as Lapis turned back to her original form and she looked to the devices above as lights flickered from them.

"What're those?"

"I don't know how they work exactly, but they're scramblers made by Helio that put security cameras through loops so we aren't spotted." Lapis said.

"Well, it's a good thing they didn't upgrade them these past three years." Sapphire said.

"Come on, let's try and search this place quickly; they'll figure out something's wrong eventually."

With that, the two raced around the halls, glancing from room to room with X-Ray vision and seeing nothing of note except for gems being fitted with robotic limbs. It began to puzzle Lapis the more she thought about it: why would the Diamonds fit gems with cybernetic enhancements when they have high-level regeneration and affinity for magic? Her thoughts were cut short when they came across a room emitting a powerful energy signature and were unable to see through its walls.

Sapphire moved up to the door and placed her hand on it, sensing a sealing spell on it and slowly unlocking it. Breaking the seal, she looked to Lapis and received a nod from her, hesitantly pressing a button adjacent to the door and waiting for it to slide open. The two looked into the room and saw a large round assembly room with several platforms that descended to a floor where multiple large glass pods were lined up before a massive screen.

The two looked at the white-robed Agates that roamed the room and transformed to look like them, moving to the lower floors to get a better look at what was going on while keeping a safe distance.

"So, this's the last week till we stop production of organic gems, huh?" One Agate said to another. "I wonder if we'll get assigned to the AI gem assembly line or somewhere else."

"Ah, I don't give a fuck honestly." The gem next to him stretched out. "Anywhere without the damn annoying shrieks of pain is fine with me."

Sapphire raised her brow upon overhearing them and a large door to her right swung open and from it came several tall Topazes that dragged red-skinned goblins with flaming hair by chains and led them toward the pods. The goblins lashed out in anger, desperately trying to break free and the Topazes shocked them with electric rods, forcing them one by one into the pods lined up at the center of the room.

Metal harnesses bound the goblins as the glass chambers activated and small robotic hands carrying gemstones materialized from the outer casing, drawing closer to the creatures. The pods scanned the goblins and the automated hands shoved the gemstones into their bodies, drawing screams of pain as the crystals burrowed their way into their flesh! Sapphire frowned as she saw the goblins thrash about in pain; her curiosity rising as a blue liquid slowly filled containment units, completely submerging the captives within.

The screams and rumbling slowly died down as the liquid covered them and Lapis watched closely, failing to see what was going on inside. A short silence fell when the pods suddenly flew open, releasing thick clouds of steam as the goblins slowly sat up, each disoriented as they looked around. Sapphire stepped back in horror as she saw that they had been completely transformed into Carnelians, a fact they slowly realized themselves as they felt a pulsation from the gemstones permanently embedded in their bodies!

The new gems began to panic when tubes shot out from the pods they sat in and pierced into the back of their necks, instantly throwing them into a trance-like state as they looked to the large screen at the end of the room. The display came on, drawing Lapis and Sapphire's attention to a video of Blue Diamond, the goddess' face immediately sending shivers up Sapphire's spine as she looked downward condescendingly, almost as if she could see her.

"Welcome my children to your new home. I am Blue Diamond, the god of this world, but you will refer to me now as Mother." Blue Diamond began. "Your lives have been elevated from a futile aimless existence to one of ultimate purpose, to serve me and my sisters, the Diamonds."

* * *

STEVEN SKIDDED along the side of the abyss and came to a stop, dusting his hands and looking downward, still not seeing the bottom. He huffed and prepared to move along when Kevin crashed down on a rock on a wall opposite from him and Gwen, Starfire and Ben, who had turned into Jetray, flew down toward them.

"Hey, what took you guys so long?" Steven asked.

"Well, unlike you, we tried to assess what we were getting into before blindly diving into a pitch black abyss." Kevin said.

"The energy I'd sensed before is getting weaker, so wherever it's coming from must be going further underground." Gwen said.

"That's good then; if the signal gets stronger, then we're close to our target." Jetray said, descending further.

"Wait …" Starfire said. "Does anyone else hear something?"

Steven and the others fell silent as they tried to listen when tremors rippled through the pit's walls, drawing their attention downward where an orange light grew brighter and brighter! "What is that?" Jetray raised his brow.

"Get back!" Gwen cried as a pillar of lava burst from beneath them and shot to the surface above! Ben quickly transformed into Heatblast and manipulated the rocks around him, creating a protective cocoon around him, Gwen and Kevin. Gwen looked around. "Where're Steven and Starfire?"

"The must be on the other side of the blast." Heatblast said.

The cocoon rumbled and Kevin looked down to see the rocks slowly burn, quickly placing his hands on the wall behind him and absorbing it. "Follow me!" He tore a hole into the wall and created a tunnel, leading the two through and sealing it behind them.

On the other side of the blast, Steven struggled against the heat and rush of the lava geyser as he tried to keep his light shield up. Starfire reacted quickly and blew a hole into the wall behind her, grabbing Steven and tossing him into the tunnel, causing his shield to drop. She took hold of the roof of the tunnel and pulled the rocks down; causing a landslide that sealed the lava on the side.

"Well, looks like we're on our own on this one." Steven got to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Yeah, Starfire huffed and landed on the ground. "I can still sense the others so at least we know they're fine." She turned to him. "We should be careful with how we proceed from here, if we make a wrong turn, we could cause more lava to spew out."

"The Moss must've made it to the planet's core already then."

"Then we have to hurry." Starfire walked off.

Steven followed the Tamaranean through the cave, hearing the lava ejection slowly die down behind them, and tried to think of where to start digging from when he saw a green liquid rise around his feet. "What the?"

Before he could react, the liquid quickly spread around his leg and began to engulf his body! Starfire tried to come to his aid when a Mossling emerged behind her and grabbed her by the neck, driving her into the ground below! The woman threw the creature off her and incinerated it with an energy blast, rising into the air when three more Mosslings massed around her!

Steven unleashed his aura and burned the liquid off him, charging energy through his fist and punching the ground below, causing it to break apart and sending him and Starfire into a free fall! Starfire blasted the creatures off her and looked down to see a gigantic swarm off Mosslings climbing their way up the abyss toward them!

Steven raised his hand above his head and channeled an energy ball in his palm, chucking the sphere down which split into a volley of blasts that rained on the monsters below, burning them in a series of blasts that dug further into the ground! Slapping her hands together, Starfire fired a green photon beam at the remaining Mosslings, giving the finishing blow and burning them all to bits!

Steven and Starfire landed at the bottom of the hole they dug and found themselves in pitch-blackness. Forging another light orb in his hands, the gem-human lit their way and turned to the Tamaranean. "The signature seems stronger here."

"You've gotten so strong these past few months, Steven." Starfire walked up to him. "I bet we could take out hostile aliens easily with you on the team again."

"Yeah, I guess." He said. "I dunno if I'm gonna join back with you guys again though."

"What if I want you back?" Starfire placed a hand on his cheek.

"Uh, well –,"

Starfire pressed her lips against his and cut him off, holding his face with both hands and pressing her body against his as she moved closer to him. She pulled back while biting his lower lip, seeing the surprised look on his face and she smiled at him. "If you want to leave, I won't stop you." Starfire floated away, leaving the room. "It's your choice." Steven watched her leave and sifted his mind, not noticing the pieces of Moss slowly reforming behind them.

Elsewhere in the underground, a massive explosion ripped through a wall of the abyss, sending Gwen, Kevin and Feedback crashing hard on the ground and skidding to a stop. "Ben, what the fuck was that?" Kevin growled as he got up.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know how much energy the Moss had absorbed before we fought them?" Feedback said.

"The point was to take them out quickly without drawing attention to ourselves? What if we ended up drawing Black Diamond's attention or ended up destabilizing the planet's core even more!?" Kevin yelled.

"Look, I was just –,"

"Uh, guys." Gwen said, drawing their attention to a large hole she stood before.

Ben and Kevin moved up to her and grew apprehensive as they saw Black Diamond below watching a group of Mosslings digging through molten lava. "I guess he hasn't noticed us yet." Kevin said.

"They're trying to get to the core, probably to absorb its energy." Gwen said. "How do we do this, Ben?" She looked to the brunette-haired man who remained silent.

* * *

"OKAY, SO let me get this straight." Trunks said as he roamed the RV he, Goten, Greg and Peridot were in as it flew in cloaking and on autopilot. "You're part of a group of Home World rebels called the Crystal Gems who're trying to fight the Diamonds and free your people, and you're a retired plumber."

"Not a regular plumber." Greg said.

"Right." Trunks stroked his chin. "Why're you called Crystal Gems?"

"Sounds like some Sailor Moon shit." Goten sat back by a window seat.

"Hey, that was a good show." Greg said, getting an eye-roll from Goten.

"Look, going head on against the Diamonds is suicide." Trunks said.

"We don't have a choice now, this's our last chance or it's all over." Peridot said. "The Diamonds have taken so much from us and our kind; we can't just let them get away with this."

"Well, what's your plan exactly? Do you have an army? Are you being backed by the Nova Corp or something?" Trunks asked.

Peridot huffed. "Our armies got wiped out before we arrived here and we don't know where our partners are."

Trunks frowned in disbelief and Goten scoffed. "Well, you're all fucked."

"Okay, let me think." Trunks paced for a bit. "Okay, we're on a mission to save two saiyan women who're being held in that city over there, so how's about we join forces? You help us maneuver this place since you know more about it than we do and we offer our strength in a fight until we find the women."

"Wait, you want to get in that city?" Peridot looked out the window. "That's the home of White Diamond; you'll die if you get caught."

Goten burst into laughter. "This shit's crazy, man."

Trunks huffed. "Well, I guess we're gonna have to take the risk."

"Wait, what? No, no, I'm not risking my life for some girls; you're on your own." Goten said.

"This isn't just about some girls; this's about fulfilling the mission and helping where we can." Trunks said. "We're Avengers and saving lives is what it's –,"

"Whoa, whoa, look, I just joined 'cause bitches love superheroes – I'm not gonna die fighting some galactic goddess."

"I thought you didn't care about the Diamonds before." Trunks said.

"Dude, you can literally feel her energy all the way from here! That's probably higher than my dad and last time we checked, we couldn't keep up with him while sparring – hell, we can't even match your dad."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Trunks frowned.

"Alright, alright, we'll help you with this." Peridot said. "As much as I don't want to get anywhere near a Diamond right now, we don't know where the others are and if they're in Region White, we should find out."

"Thank you." Trunks smiled then turned to Goten. "Come on, man, are you really gonna back out at the last second?"

Goten thought for a bit then huffed. "Alright, fuck it, let's do this."

* * *

BIG CHILL phased through a wall and hovered above Black Diamond and his horde of Mosslings, looking closely as they continued to dig up lava that bubbled beneath the rocks. "We're gonna have to separate Black Diamond from his horde before we strike; we don't know how strong he is exactly and the Moss will only get in the way." Big Chill said via an earpiece.

"And how do we do that?" Kevin asked on the other end.

"Follow my lead and cover me." Big Chill said, tapping his watch and transforming into Way Big and crashing onto Black Diamond with a punch!

"That idiot." Gwen frowned.

Way Big stood up and threw a kick at Black Diamond when the Diamond blocked his leg, stopping him in his tracks! "What the!?" Way Big backed up in shock.

A dark shadow erupted from Black Diamond and shot up to Way Big's face, washing over him and burning his entire body, forcing him to the ground! The Moss saw this and rushed toward Way Big when a wall of earth shot up around the giant alien, blocking their path. Jumping into the pit, Kevin and Gwen came to Way Big's aid with Kevin engaging the Mosslings and Gwen summoning a spell to attack Black Diamond from behind.

Gwen shot a wave of fire at Black Diamond and he teleported away, summoning Moss from beneath the ground to bind Way Big and more to wrap around Gwen's legs and yank her to the ground. The Diamond reappeared at the pool of lava and released a green liquid from his palms, creating more Mosslings that quickly returned to digging. Ben transformed into Goop and tried to escape the Moss, but immediately was surrounded again by the green entity that slowly began tearing into the Omnitrix!

Black Diamond watched as his minions dug further and he backed away as an earthquake ripped through the pit, sending a massive crack that split the area in half and caused more lava to spew to the surface! The shaking knocked Kevin off his feet, leaving him open for the monsters to swarm over him and tried to beak way, seeing Gwen completely covered from head to toe and nearly submerged into the ground!

The Moss slowly absorbed the three plumbers, sapping them off their energy when Steven burst through the roof and tackled Black Diamond, digging him further into the earth and breaking a hole through the floor, driving him further underground! Following soon after, Starfire flew into the center of the room and unleashed a blast of energy from her body that tore through the Moss throughout the room, allowing Kevin, Gwen and Ben to break out.

Ben quickly transformed into Big Chill as he freed himself and he released a breath of ice at the lava that was spewing out, cooling it instantly! "Black Diamond just reached the planet's core!" Big Chill said. "If we don't stabilize it, the planet will die."

"I'm on it." Starfire shot through the ground and came up to the gigantic molten core which burned several feet away from her, raising her hand and channeling energy through it. "Alright, try not to blow up on me."

* * *

GREG LOOKED across the street and watched three white-robed gem guards moving down a sidewalk in the Region White capital, quickly looking away to avoid behind noticed as he walked alongside Trunks, Goten and Peridot. "Yup, they're patrolling the streets."

"Yeah, no shit, this's the home of a Diamond; security's always high." Peridot said.

"In that case, why don't we just skip sneaking around and just fight these guys." Goten said, tugging at the new robes he wore. "I freaking hate these clothes."

"Have you been listening to anything we've been talking about these past few hours?" Trunks asked.

"Nope."

"You fucking –,"

"Are you sure these disguises will fool the gems in this city?" Greg asked Peridot as he touched the false gemstone on his palm.

"Yes, how do you think we're able to walk around in the open like this?" Peridot asked then frowned. "Wait, why're you asking me this?"

"Just wait up for me."

"What're you doing?" Peridot asked as Greg crossed the street.

Peridot tried her hardest not to scream as Greg went to the three guards and started talking to them, biting her tongue as he led them into a nearby alleyway. She squinted as she couldn't see what was going on and a few moments later, Greg reemerged and went down the street nonchalantly, rejoining her and the two saiyans at a small bridge down the street.

"What the hell did you just do?" Peridot asked.

"I took out the guards and stole one of their holo-maps of the city." Greg said, holding two gemstones on one hand and a blue disc in the other.

"Whoa, you beat them down that quickly?" Goten asked.

"Hell no, I wouldn't stand a chance in a fight." Greg pocketed the gemstones and discreetly showed them a gun holstered in his jacket. "The Plumbers figured out a way to short out gemstones long ago, although it's still hard to find them and get to them during a fight – luckily those guards had them on their chests or I'd be dead right now."

Peridot looked at Greg in surprise as he laughed then she smiled at him. "I guess I underestimated you, Greg; that was impressive."

"Like I told you, respect your elders." Greg walked off.

"I'm older than you!" Peridot yelled.

"Hey, you want us to get caught? Keep it down." Greg said, infuriating the girl.

* * *

NALAR LOOKED across a small desert a few kilometers from the Slave Village that was now underground as he walked beside Ruby, having a hard time seeing through other light spectrums as his energy waned. He hid this from Ruby however as they went on, quietly sensing the dread and confusion in the red woman as she had remained silent for a while.

Hesitantly, he finally spoke. "Are you alright?"

"How am I supposed to be alright? All those people died and I couldn't do anything to stop it." Ruby huffed. "We couldn't even help Carnelian."

"Well, we can't cry every time we fail." Nalar chuckled. "Otherwise we'd be crying all day."

"How can you say that?" Ruby growled at him.

"What? We're rubies! We fail and fail and keep pretending we can do shit and guess what? We can't."

"What's wrong with you?! Everyone in the village just died and you're trying to joke about it."

"Yeah, yeah, who freaking –," Nalar tried to say when he fell over.

"Whoa, what happened?" She came to his side.

"No, no, I'm fine." He said. "I just tripped."

"You keep falling every few steps." Ruby frowned. "What're you hiding from me? You're not wounded, but you can barely walk."

"I told you I'm fine." Nalar said when electricity sputtered out of his body, causing him to buckle and cough out a lot of blood!

"Nalar!" She knelt beside him, seeing him shudder and fall over. "Nalar, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine, I –," Nalar sighed. "Who am I fooling?"

"What happened to you?" Ruby said. "Your energy level's low even for a ruby, you're weirdly light for your size and now this."

Nalar frowned and wiped the blood from his mouth. "Well, it looks like I don't have much time left after all."

"What do you mean?"

"Just try not to freak out." Nalar hissed in pain and slowly pulled his eye-patch back, revealing a hole beneath that held the remaining bits of a shattered gemstone!

"What the hell?!" Ruby backed up, nearly falling over in shock.

"I was shattered a few years ago and I guess my timer's running out." Nalar said. "I'm gonna need your help."

* * *

SAPPHIRE AND Lapis, still disguised as Agates, stepped out of the gemification lab and into the hallway, the Diamond running her hand through her hair as she finally learned how gems were created. She now realized what the Crystal Gems had probably gone through, how their lives were taken away from them, how she could never understand their suffering. Questions soon flooded through her mind, among them being who the Crystal Gems were before the Diamonds turned them into gems.

Her thoughts were cut short when an Agate called to them. "Hey, you two, we need extra hands to log in the new gems in lab three!"

"W-we're on it." Lapis answered, looking to Sapphire to make sure she was okay, and she followed the Agate.

The two blue women followed the gem handler down the halls into a Gemification Lab on another floor, wondering what was going on as it had much larger doors than the one they came from. They entered the room, seeing it as merely a larger assembly room when their attention was taken by a massive glass ball full of water that hovered in the ceiling with many tubes that were connected to glass pods that held gems inside. They were curious as to what was going on when Lapis recognized the gems that were inside!

"Alright, let's wrap this up and take these Lazulis to programming." The lead Agate in the facility said. "Once they're operational, we can begin wide scale terraformation of planets in the next solar system."

* * *

There ya have it, chapter 3! Thanks for reading and if you enjoyed it, check out our Deviantart or Tumblr (/realdoneuniverse) to see our character designs for this book.

Don't forget to follow so you don't miss the next chapter "Black Diamond", see ya next time.


	13. Home World, Ch4 - Rubytopia

**HOME WORLD**

 **Chapter 4 - Rubytopia**

RUBY'S HEART pounded in her chest as she looked at the pieces of shattered gemstone in Nalar's eye socket and she searched her mind, trying to compose herself. "H-how? How did this happen? You're not supposed to be alive without a gemstone."

Nalar chuckled weakly. "A few years ago while I was under Pink Diamond's command, the rubies in our squad and I were sent on a mission to take out rebel gems that were hiding outside the main city whom we were told were remnants of the Crystal Gems. We succeeded and killed many gems, but over time, I began to realize that they were increasingly weaker than us and some didn't even put up a fight." He sat up, trying and failing to heal his wounds. "I did some digging and soon discovered that Pink and the other Diamonds were having us kill off weak gems they had cast aside from all around Home World, soldier and civilian alike. They deemed them unworthy of living because of how weak they were and thought that if they just killed them, they could absorb their energy and use it to power their new creations, though I never found out what they were."

"So, you tried to rebel against her …" Ruby realized.

"Nobody would believe me, they believed everything a Diamond said and I couldn't stand by, even if I was alone." Nalar huffed. "But I never stood a chance; she took me out in seconds and just like other gems deemed unworthy, my squad and I were cast aside to the Slave Village. Some of the rubies realized I was telling the truth and we banded together to be the last line of defense for when Pink Diamond would send more gems to take us out, but we never knew about the Moss until it was too late."

Nalar laughed. "I was never strong, even among the rubies, I was a failure; a waste of a soldier. I hoped every day that I'd have the power to stand out, something to show that I was just as good as the others, but then the power I discovered was a mutation that allowed me to live longer than anyone else just so I could watch my friends die while I did nothing. I'm worthless."

"That's for you to decide." Ruby said, moving up to him. "We're not as strong as the Diamonds want us to be, but we're as strong as we need to. We choose how to live our lives, not them." She held her hand out to him. "I'm not gonna let you die here."

"You don't even know me."

"Yeah, but I'm gonna help you anyway." Ruby helped him stand. "Now, come on, I bet we can find a way to fix this."

He laughed softly. "I guess I can give it one more try …" He stepped away from her and walked on his own though limping. "There's an old friend of mine called Sphalerite who lives near here; she's a mage of sorts who always talked about trying to find a way to free us from our gemstones. If anyone can help me, it's her."

"Then let's go find her." Ruby draped his arm over her shoulder and helped him walk onward. Nalar looked at her in confusion then smiled softly, letting her help him as they continued through the desert.

* * *

EXPLOSIONS RIPPED through the roof of a cave and through the rocks came Steven who flung Black Diamond into the earth, ripping a hole into the ground apart! The Diamond punched Steven off him and slammed his hand against the earth, spreading his shadow throughout the tunnel and shrouding it in darkness! Steven's eyes glowed and he looked through the pitch black, confused as the Diamond completely disappeared when a dark hand grabbed his neck from behind and dragged him into the ground!

Steven fought against the pull when Black Diamond reformed before him and grabbed his face, spreading his darkness over him and draining his energy! He felt his body wane as he lost control, his arms falling limp at his side, when a sword made of light impaled Black Diamond from behind, causing his shadows to instantly disappear and forcing him to let go of Steven! The Diamond yanked the weapon out of his chest and turned to see Gwen and Ben stepping out of a portal, the redheaded sorceress waving her arms in an arc and summoning three magical crystals that floated around her.

"We've gotta be careful here." Gwen summoned her spell book beside her. "If his shadows get a hold of you, he'll absorb all your energy."

"Yeah, I learned the hard way." Steven slowly got to his feet.

"Well, I guess we've gotta be a little more tactful here." Ben said, scrolling through the aliens in his watch.

Gwen thrust her hand forward and the light crystals released a powerful light throughout the tunnel, causing Black Diamond to withdraw in pain. Reacting quickly, the black humanoid send his shadows out at the sorceress when Steven blasted him with a photon beam from behind, driving him into the earth. Summoning a light shield, he rushed at the Diamond when a shadow wave washed over him and drove him through a nearby wall, blasting him out of the room!

Gwen erected a magical shield before her and the crystals, holding the shadows off on the other side! She struggled against the force when a strip of Moss burst out of the ground, tearing right through two of the crystals, dimming the light that weakened Black Diamond! The Moss spread toward the last crystal, ready to destroy it as well when Diamondhead grabbed the stone and absorbed it, turning his whole body white and causing him to blaze with energy!

"Ha, perfect!" The alien clenched his fist.

Charging forward, Diamondhead shot out large crystals from his palms that impaled into the ground and released their light all around, burning the Moss nearby and causing them to wither away! Dropping her light shield, Gwen flew toward Black Diamond who picked an injured Steven out of a hole in the wall about to absorb his energy! Reacting quickly, the sorceress summoned multiple magical binds made of light that wrapped around the Diamond and Diamondhead stabbed him in the chest, raising him into the air and smashing him against the ground!

Black Diamond unleashed a burst of shadow out of his body, knocking Diamondhead aside and rolled to his feet, engaging the three Plumbers as they attacked him from all sides! The Diamond dodged energy blasts from Steven and Diamondhead and sent them flying with a wave of dark, failing to notice a magic circle created by Gwen beneath him that blasted him with a beam of light that washed over him and scorched his body! He writhed in pain and Gwen smashed him against the ground with a swing of a magic staff she summoned and she took a fight pose, standing over him as Ben and Steven got to their feet.

"Is he down?" Steven asked.

"Not likely." Gwen said.

Black Diamond shoved his hand forth and directed a surge of shadow at the three and Gwen stabbed her staff into the ground, sending out pulse that electrocuted him! The Diamond hovered off the ground and Diamondhead erected a crystal spike that impaled him, burning him from the inside! The Diamond escaped again, breaking the crystal, and he unleashed a dark aura around himself when Steven flew up toward him and shoved an energy ball into his gut, causing an explosion that drove him further into the ground and nearly caused the tunnel to collapse on them!

Black Diamond quickly rose to his feet and conjured more Moss from beneath Diamondhead, Gwen and Steven, binding them and he summoned more darkness around him. He staggered as he moved, badly wounded, and he prepared to give the final blow when the room suddenly rumbled. Tremors rippled through the roof of the tunnel and the Diamond looked up only to get blasted with a gigantic energy beam that tore the tunnel apart, nearly blinding the three Plumbers as he was smashed down further into the ground!

Steven squinted through the dust cloud that filled the cave and looked to see Black Diamond lying in a pile of rubble up ahead. He looked to the giant hole in the roof where the blast came from and he grinned as he saw Starfire descend into the room. "Whoa, where'd all that power come from?" He moved up to her.

The orange woman panted, "Oh, hey, Steven." She landed before the three. "The planet's core nearly exploded, so I absorbed some of its energy, and I needed to let it out." She wiped sweat off her brow, turning to Black Diamond. "Is that the guy?"

"Yeah." Diamondhead fired a crystal into Black Diamond, causing him to crumble and burn away.

"It's finally over." Steven said, slumping on a wall and catching his breath.

"Wait, where's Kevin?" Gwen asked.

"Oh, he's still up there fighting the Moss." Starfire pointed upward.

"What?"

* * *

SAND CRUNCHED beneath the feet of the two rubies as they traveled the wastelands on the outskirts of Region Pink, the red woman and the dying man growing weary as they'd walked for what felt like hours without a soul in sight. Ruby looked to Nalar whom she aided as they walked, worried as he was becoming slower and it was harder for him to go on the longer they proceeded. Her mind clouded with worry when she bumped into something that nearly knocked her and Nalar over.

"What the …?" Ruby looked forward and saw nothing before her.

She reached out and felt something flat though she couldn't see anything, slowly stepping back as she heard garbled voices muttering all around her. The voices sounded distant yet close at the same time, the sounds of two people who were arguing somehow coming from all sides around her simultaneously!

"What is this?" Nalar looked around curiously.

"Uh, hello? Is someone there?" Ruby asked nervously.

"Shit, they heard us!" A female voice came.

"I told to soundproof this fucking thing!" A male voice said then huffed. "Alright then."

A bright light flashed before Ruby and Nalar and a massive crab-shaped ship slowly materialized out of thin air, revealing a small group of rubies that set up camp around it! Ruby looked at the settlement in confusion, her attention quickly shifting to two twelve foot tall rubies that walked toward her, startling her as they each had large weapons strapped on their backs and wore alien armor she didn't recognize.

"Sorry about that, my dumbass sister Litter was supposed to patch up the ship's cloaking." The male ruby said.

"Hey, it's not my fault, Twig; Litter Jr. was hungry!" The female ruby whined, patting the head of a giant black wolf with wings on its back that walked up to her.

"Ugh." Twig rolled his eyes.

"What's going on here? What is this place?" Nalar asked.

"Oh, how rude of me." Litter blushed in embarrassment, spinning around and gesturing to the large ship and the rubies that roamed around it. "This is Rubytopia! The settlement of the last rubies of Home World!"

"The last?" Ruby said.

"Huh? Where've you two been?" Litter chuckled. "Yeah, a few years ago White Diamond passed an order to shatter every ruby living in the Inner cities."

"The Diamonds deemed us unworthy and inefficient in combat, so they wanted to replace us with these 'AI' ruby, whatever that means." Twig said. "So, Litter and I gathered up every ruby we could find in Region White, stole this ship and tried to get off world."

"But, we couldn't get past the security outposts around the planet, so we stopped here." Litter said. "We at least figured out how to expand the ship's cloaking after tinkering around for a bit though and we've hid out here so the Diamond's forces wouldn't find us."

"And those bastards never will! A ruby nearby yelled.

"Yeah!" Another chimed in.

"Heh, you had better luck than I did, huh? Nobody listened to me when I said shi –" Nalar tried to say when electricity sputtered out of his body, forcing him down to his knees!

"Whoa, what's wrong?" Litter moved up to Nalar.

"He's injured and we're trying to find someone who can help heal him." Ruby explained.

Litter knelt beside Nalar and held his shoulder, reading his aura. "Well, he won't make it far with energy this low." She looked to Ruby. "What kind of injury saps your life force?"

"It's … complicated." Ruby said.

Litter squinted at Ruby, wondering if she was hiding something, and she drew out a small round charm from her pocket, holding it up to Nalar. "I'll share some of my energy with him, but it's only a small measure; he'll need more than this." She placed her free hand on Nalar's chest, emitting a dim light from her arm as she began the spell.

"Why don't you two stay here a while? There's plenty room here for fellow rubies." Twig offered.

Ruby sifted her mind and looked at the other rubies that filled the encampment, a gentle smile spreading on her face as she spotted a mother and father playing with their younglings. She thought this over.

* * *

KEVIN CRASHED onto a Mossling with a heavy fist, ripping through its chest and tearing its body apart, and Gwen delivered the final blow with a magical blast, causing the entity's body to collapse and turn to dust! Panting, Kevin looked around the underground room he, Gwen, Ben, Starfire and Steven were in, finally letting out a sigh of relief as he saw the Moss crumbling away. "That's the last of 'em." He creaked his neck. "Those bastards sure packed a punch."

"Yeah, but what's important is that this planet's safe now." Gwen said. "We can report this in to HQ and find out where else the Moss might be."

"Sounds like a plan." Ben said, transforming back from Diamondhead to his normal form.

"Yeah, and it's gonna be even easier now that the crew's back together, right Steven?" Starfire turned to Steven who knelt before a dying Mossling. "Steven …?"

Kevin squinted then frowned, moving up to the man. "Hey, what're you doing back there? If it absorbs your energy, the Moss will revive and …" He stopped as he got closer. "Huh …?"

"Steven?" Starfire came to his side, confused as he saw tears streaming down his face.

Steven trembled as he lay his hand on the Mossling, failing to compose himself. "The Moss, it's … my people."

"What?" Gwen asked.

"It's made up of souls of fallen gems, all driven by grief and madness." Steven said. "Hundreds, thousands of them …" The Mossling he laid his hand on disintegrated and he clenched his fist shakily, turning to Starfire as she squeezed his hand gently.

"I'm so sorry, Steven." Starfire said and Kevin placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him as well.

Steven looked to Ben and Gwen as they came up to him and he wiped his tears, rising to his feet. "We'll put a stop to this, Steven, I promise." Ben said.

"If only there was a way to track them all down." Gwen said. "I thought Black Diamond was the source, but I guess I was wrong."

"It won't stop unless we get to the source." Steven said, looking to Starfire. "I'll come back to the Plumbers, but I'll need your help."

* * *

RUBY WATCHED as ruby younglings ran past her while she sat beside the large ship, smiling as Litter Jr., the giant winged wolf, sniffed her and she petted his snout. "Seems he's taken a liking to you." Twig said as he walked up to her. "Litter's not gonna like that."

"Well, I'm not much of a pet person." Ruby replied then recoiled as the wolf licked her face. "Oh, come on!" She quickly got up and wiped the slobber off her face, gaining a laugh from Twig, and she stopped as she heard footsteps coming from the ship, turning to see Litter walking out of it. "How is he?"

"He should be able to continue walking for a bit, but he'll need a lot more treatment than this." Litter got off the ship, giving way to Nalar who disembarked as well.

"Thank you so much." Ruby moved up to her. "I don't know any healing magic, so I'd be at a loss here if it weren't for your help."

"Yes, thank you." Nalar said.

"Oh, it's no problem really." Litter smiled.

"Are you sure you can't stay at all, even for a night?" Twig asked.

"We have to keep moving, and so do you." Nalar said.

"What do you mean?" Litter asked.

"The Moss are coming." Ruby said. "They destroyed a village a few hours from here and it won't be long before they find their way here."

"You have to escape while you can." Nalar added.

Twig looked at the other rubies then scoffed. "Nah, we can take 'em."

"What?" Ruby frowned.

"Yeah, we're no pushovers." Litter added. "We can hold our own in a fight."

"Didn't you hear us? They destroyed an entire village a few hours ago." Nalar repeated.

"We heard you and we said we can handle it." Twig crossed his arms. "How do you think we managed to escape Region White anyway?"

"You don't understand; we're just rubies, we can't –," Ruby said then cut herself off, frowning. "… You … you can do it."

"What?" Nalar turned to her.

"You can take them on." Ruby said. "Just be careful."

"We should be saying that to you, shortstack." Litter said with a smile. "Just come by whenever you can."

"You'll know where to find us." Twig said. "We're not going anywhere."

Ruby nodded. "Thank you for everything." She turned to Nalar. "Come on, let's go."

Ruby and Nalar walked away from Twig and Litter, waving goodbye before the camp disappeared under the ship's cloaking. Nalar stared at Ruby as he followed her, wondering what was going through her mind and failing to understand her reasoning for enabling the others. He slowed down however and looked underneath his jacket, seeing his side slowly crumbling into dust! Glancing at Ruby, he buttoned his top and continued on after her.

* * *

"NO FOOD, no booze, no internet and no guys for a hundred miles, now that's some bullshit." Amethyst groaned as she walked through a forest on the outskirts of Region White. "Right Lion?"

Lion looked at her blankly then walked off. "Oh, right, you're a guy." Amethyst said as the animal moved past her. "Wait, are you a guy? I don't know how animals work really." Lion glanced at her than continued on. "Oh, right, you're not _actually_ a lion, I forgot." She chuckled and the gem remained silent. "Come on, at least nod or something! We've been walking for almost a day now; I can't keep talking to myself."

Lion ignored her and kept going, annoying the purple woman as she followed him, coming to a clearing and seeing the bright lights of the inner city in the distance contrasting against the night sky. "Oh fuck, oh fuck – uh, Lion, let's try going somewhere else." She u-turned and took another path when she realized Lion had remained behind. "Lion?"

Amethyst looked to the animal that looked at the city blankly and she moved up to him when she sensed a familiar energy signature, her eyes dilating as she instantly recognized who it was. Running off, the purple woman made her way through the bushes and between trees, sliding down a small hill and coming to a stop as she felt the source of the presence she felt. She choked up as she saw a small group of three amethysts, a tanzanite and a beryl seated by a campfire and discussing amongst themselves.

"The Famethyst …" She finally realized, moving toward them.

"Alright, so from the information we've analyzed, the city's heavily monitored around the labs which are closer to the center which is where Yellow along with White Diamond most likely are." Beryl said. "When we launch our attack, we …" He froze as he looked up. "Amethyst?"

"Beryl …" Amethyst said, her tears flowing freely, and she ran up to the male gem, hugging him tightly. "I can't believe I found you again!"

"Whoa, it's amethyst!" An amethyst got to her feet, rousing the small group as they recognized their old leader.

"That's her?" Tanzanite raised her brow.

Amethyst pulled back and held Beryl's face in disbelief. "I thought you were dead."

"We were rescued during the attack, but we couldn't find you and the others in time." Beryl said, tearing up as well.

Amethyst stepped away from him and looked to the others, recognizing the amethysts 8XG, 8XJ and 8XL, not noticing Tanzanite who moved up to her. "Oh, hi, I'm new to the group." She held her hand out. "I guess I never got the chance to meet you."

"Oh, hey." Amethyst shook her hand, wiping the tears off her face.

"Amethyst, meet my girlfriend, Tanzanite." Beryl said.

Amethyst's heart sank as she heard this. "Your what? What do you mean girlfriend?"

"Yeah, we met two years ago." Tanzanite said, curious. "Is something wrong?"

"Now who might you be?" A large yellow-skinned man entered the small camp and moved up to Amethyst.

"Oh, you're back." Beryl turned to the man and smiled. "Zenoth, this's our former leader Amethyst." He turned to her. "Amethyst, this's Zenoth, the man who saved us when Home World attacked us and got us separated a century ago."

Amethyst failed to hear anything else being said as her heart pounded in her chest, shifting her glance from Beryl to Tanzanite.

* * *

THE STARS shone brightly over Oval Town, the quiet village awash in a gentle breeze as summer slowly came though, waving through Pearl's hair as she sat at the foot of a tree beside Gen as they gazed at the night sky. "It's beautiful isn't it?" Gen said.

"Yeah …" Pearl said. "It's amazing honestly; I've been to many planets, yet the sky never ceases to astound me." Her smile slowly died. "I never want this to end."

"You can do this any time you want."

"One day I won't be." She said. "We're getting closer to Home World and … I don't know if I'll be able to come back."

"Come on; don't say that, you can do this." He turned to her. "You've come too far just to fail in the end."

"I don't think I can do this." She said, starting to panic. "I can't face her again."

"Pearl, listen to me." Gen held her face. "You are not going to lose. You and the Gems can save Home World and you can come back home." Pearl looked into his eyes and forced a smile, fighting off tears as he held her hand. "There's nothing to fear."

"Pearl." Rose's voice cut sharply through Pearl's thoughts.

SHAKING HER head, Pearl looked around and realized that she was at the foot of the hill outside of the inner city of Region Pink, turning back and seeing Rose standing a few feet behind her. "You miss her don't you?" Rose said.

Pearl squinted and tried to think, turning back and seeing the home of Pink Diamond in the distance. "I don't want to leave …"

"You don't need Pink Diamond, Pearl." Rose moved up to her. "You're free now, free from her."

Pearl looked at Rose then at the city, struggling to choose.

* * *

"UH, PEARL?" Connie asked as she moved up to the pale woman who stood with her on the hill in present day Region Pink, having stared at the inner city for some time. "Pearl, are you okay?"

Pearl looked at the large black tower at the center of the dilapidated and dirty desert town, clenching her fist as she steeled herself. "Yeah, I'm fine." She sighed. "Let's go."

* * *

HORROR SPREAD across Lapis' face as she saw the lazulis lying in their pods in the assembly room in White Diamond's lab in Region White. Flashes of the past quickly filled her mind when the main door into the lab opened, drawing the attention of the other Agates who quickly bowed. "Welcome, Lord Diamond." The Agates said in near unison.

Lapis froze as she heard this, turning to the Diamond who stood at the top of the upper platform, looking down upon them as she studied the room. Rage quickly replaced the fear in Lapis as she looked at the goddess, struggling to cover her emotions as the Diamond came down to the lower platform and looked at the lazulis being created.

"Alright then." White Diamond said. "Let us begin."

* * *

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Thanks for reading.


	14. Home World, Ch5 - Ashes

**HOME WORLD**

 **Chapter 5 - Ashes**

A SMILE spread across Blood Quartz' face as he looked into Jasper's eyes, gurgling comfortably as she cradled him in her arms. Helio smiled as he saw how happy Jasper was in that moment, shifting his gaze to a purple planet in the distance and squinting as a sun further behind it shone brightly. Having been in space for a while, the black gem decided to check his gauntlet to see how much oxygen they had left in their suits when he saw a massive orange star-shaped asteroid up ahead that made him freeze up in awe.

"Is that it?" Helio asked, stunned by how massive it was compared to Home World.

Jasper looked up and smiled as she saw the planet. "Yes, it was my home for a time." She hovered up to him. "This is Dragonbloom, land of the Star Dragons."

"The what!?" Helio exclaimed in shock and quickly moved up to her. "The Star Dragons? They're just a myth."

"No, they're real; I've known them for many years."

"But –," Helio quickly composed himself. "How are they so close to Home World when no one has heard of or seen them in millennia? They're supposed to be more powerful than the Diamonds themselves!"

"I know their leader and he left a gateway near Home World only I and others I allowed could enter through." Jasper said, moving toward the planet. "Come, let's go meet my family." Helio raised his brow in surprise as Jasper went on and he followed her, entering the planet together. "The Star Dragons are celestial beings who live on Dragonbloom and unlike the Diamonds believe, are entirely peaceful and have no real interest in dominating the cosmos. They love nature and live in harmony outside the reach of other sentient life." A bright light shone over the three and Jasper smiled. "Here we are."

The sun shone brightly over the starry skies of Dragonbloom, welcoming Jasper, Helio and their child to the view of the open lush landscapes that spread before them. The two descended to the ground and landed on the soft grasslands, smiling as giant dandelion-like plants peppered its petals over them, bringing a hearty laugh to Jasper Helio had never seen before.

Helio was awestruck as they roamed the grasslands, his smile quickly dying as he saw the corpse of a gigantic dragon lying nearby. "Jasper …"

Jasper turned as she heard him and her heart sank as she recognized the beast, quickly running up to it when she saw another to her right. "Nubias, Livar …" She ran off, leaving Blood in Helio's arms.

Jasper ran up to Nubias and placed her hand on his neck, failing to get a pulse or an energy signature from him; he was gone. Horror spread on her face as she checked on Livar, sensing nothing from him as well, and she ran on, seeing body after body littering the grasslands behind rocks and under trees that she didn't notice before. She came to a stop as she came upon an opening, her knees giving way as she found the carcass of a large round dragon lying amongst her dead younglings.

Tears streamed down Jasper's face and she wept bitterly, kneeling midst those whom she called family as they laid dead around her. Helio came to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder, looking around and wondering what had happened to the dragons. She trembled as her crying slowly died down and tried to think, looking around and searching out to see if she could sense anyone's energy signatures.

"I'm sorry, Jasper." Helio said. "We'll find a way to –,"

"It's all over." Jasper cut him off. "Everyone's gone; they're all dead. All my armies, and now this …"

Helio sighed, looking to Blood started to grow worried, and he turned to her. "Who could have done this?"

"I don't know …" She tried to think, slowly composing herself. "I don't think there's anyone strong enough to even face them yet along massacre all of them."

"… Well, we need to try and figure out what happened here." Helio stood and walked toward a body. "We can –,"

"Wait." Jasper cut him off again, sensing something and rising to her feet. "Someone's still alive around here." She turned to her left and saw a massive black mountain in the distance. "The Elder!" Her face brightened up and she ran off. "Follow me!"

* * *

AMETHYST SAT beside Beryl at the fireplace, watching as more Amethysts arrived and joined the rest of the Famethyst as they geared up outside of Region White's inner city. A smile spread on Amethyst's face as she saw Lion sitting amongst 8XG, 8XL and 8XJ and she looked to Zenoth, her mind becoming more suspicious of him as she couldn't really sense his energy very well.

"You haven't really changed much at all have you?" Beryl said as he added logs to the fire. "You still dress inappropriately for combat."

"I probably dress inappropriately in general, at least according to Pearl." Amethyst shrugged. "Nobody's really changed much honestly."

Beryl chuckled. "Yeah."

"I'm surprised you kept the name I gave you guys – didn't I make it up while I was drunk or something?"

"Well, nobody could come up with something new, so we stuck to it." He said. "Besides, we needed something to remember you by."

She smiled. "And I remembered you …" She drew out her locket and opened it, revealing an old picture of her and Beryl.

He froze in surprise upon seeing this, looking to Amethyst. "It was so long ago."

"I never forgot about you." She laughed slightly. "I thought you died when we got separated and I tried to move on, but I couldn't let go … and here you are."

He hesitated. "… But **_I_** moved on."

Amethyst frowned. "But –,"

"Beryl." Tanzanite called as she arrived, realizing that she'd interrupted the two, and she awkwardly continued. "The scouts have returned and Zenoth wants to discuss the rest of the plan."

"Thanks, Tan." Beryl said and got to his feet, following her and leaving Amethyst behind.

Amethyst watched the two leave and tried to piece together what was happening, unsure of how to feel about what Beryl said. Shaking herself out of it, she went up to where the rest of the Famethyst had gathered and sat by herself away from Beryl, paying no heed to some of the amethysts who looked at her curiously. Zenoth, the large yellow-skinned man with white hair garbed in black and white armor with a large sword holstered on his back, walked up to the group while reading a holo-map of Region White's inner city.

"Alright, now that we're all here, let's go over our plans one last time to invade the city and kill Yellow Diamond." Zenoth said.

"Wait, you wanna do what?!" Amethyst interjected.

"We're going to take out Yellow Diamond." Zenoth turned to her. "Try and keep up, I thought Beryl filled you in on this."

"You can't just attack Yellow Diamond; she'll kill you." Amethyst stood up.

"We've planned this out for months; we're know what we're doing." An amethyst said. "The fuck are you to come and start telling us how we do things around here anyway."

"We know the weaknesses in the city's defenses and once we've surrounded Yellow Diamond, killing her won't be a problem." Zenoth explained.

Amethyst blinked, completely stunned. "You're retarded, right? You honestly think you can fucking attack one of those big bitches and it'll be easy? Most of you don't have the energy level of a fucking captain for shit's sake!"

"Now, Amethyst, just calm down and hear him out." Beryl said.

"Oh, fuck off, Beryl." Amethyst snapped at him, turning to Zenoth. "You're gonna get yourselves killed."

Zenoth dismissed the holo-map and walked up to Amethyst, standing over her. "Who are you exactly?"

"I'm Amethyst, I started this group before the Crystal Gems left Home World." Amethyst crossed her arms. "And who are you, asshole?"

"I saved these gems from being executed and have led them up to this point." Zenoth said. "I can respect what you've done for them in the past, but interrupt me again and it'll be the last time you speak."

"Ooh, someone sure is full of themselves, huh?" Amethyst laughed and Beryl grabbed her by the arm, taking her away from the others and further into the woods.

"What the hell are you doing?" Beryl said to Amethyst in a hushed voice, looking back to the others and seeing Zenoth continue talking to the rest of the group.

"How can you move on from me? **_Me_**?!" Amethyst yelled.

"Amethyst, this is not the time for this." He replied, still keeping his voice low. "We can discuss this after the operation's over."

"No, no, we're discussing this now." She said, becoming infuriated. "I thought we had something special going on and what? You just toss it all aside after we get split for a couple years?"

"It's been forty years!" He frowned. "You know what, fuck it, I would've broken up with you even if we didn't split up; you've been a selfish asshole from day one and you don't care about anyone but yourself! You just do what you want and fuck who you want, and you don't care who it affects in the end."

Amethyst tried to respond, but hesitated, unsure of what to say. "Beryl –,"

"I don't have time for this." Beryl said, starting to leave. "If you want to help then fine, but if you're not, then just go."

Amethyst watched Beryl return to the others and thought over what he said when Zenoth's voice cut her thoughts. "Alright, let's move!" He said and the group began to disperse, making Amethyst panic as they started to gear up and started heading for the inner city!

* * *

RUBY WATCHED Nalar as he walked, smiling softly as he hadn't limped once since they left Rubytopia behind and continued through the desert. "What?" He finally noticed her staring, gaining a wider grin from her.

"You're looking strong for once!" Ruby said. "And you wanted me to just leave you behind."

"We can't celebrate just yet; we haven't found Sphalerite's home." Nalar said. "Though I can sense we're drawing closer to it."

"See? Things are working out for a change!" Ruby tapped his shoulder. "Come on, smile for once; we're gonna make it."

He huffed and looked at her, at the relief and elation on her face, and he smiled a little. "I guess we can be happy about something." He continued on then glanced behind him, seeing nothing but sand stretching out almost endlessly. "Do you think we'll meet them again?"

"Litter and Twig? I hope so, they were kinda interesting to me." She said. "And they were pretty damn tall too – I thought rubies were all below five-foot-six, but I guess I was wrong."

"I guess some gem mutations work out better than others." He said, looking to the starry sky.

Ruby looked at Nalar and sensed he was getting down again, moving up to him. "Don't worry about it, alright?" She draped her arm over his shoulder. "Look, when we help get you healed, why don't you join the Crystal Gems?"

"What?"

"You should join us." She repeated. "Once you've got your energy back, you could help us take on the Diamonds and stop them for good – plus, we could use the extra hands even if you're not much of a fighter. I'm not and they still keep me around."

"No, I wouldn't want to drag you guys down." Nalar said.

"Well, I want you to join us." Ruby insisted. "And when this's all over, we can do whatever you wanna do, you and me. We both deserve a break after all we've been through."

Nalar searched his mind, unsure of the proposal, and he looked back at Ruby who smiled at him reassuringly, getting lost in her warm maroon eyes. He tried to speak when jagged hand burst through his stomach, impaling him cleanly from his back and drawing out blood! Ruby withdrew in shock and saw a Mossling slowly forming from the ground behind Nalar, digging its arm into his body!

Ruby reacted quickly and shot a fireball through the creature, disintegrating it, and she ran to Nalar's side when another Mossling came at her from behind and slashed her right arm clean off! She screamed in pain as her blood gushed out of her socket and the beast kicked her down, extending its grotesque twisted arm as it stalked toward her. Fighting the pain, Ruby punched through the ground with her remaining arm and sent fire beneath the monster, sending it out like a geyser and incinerating it completely!

Ruby breathed heavily as she continued to bleed out and she quickly tried to focus as she was close to passing out, slowly healing herself. Gritting her teeth, she reformed her arm and exhaled in relief as she clenched her right fist and felt her strength return, standing up and rushing to Nalar who was bent over on the ground.

"Nalar!" Ruby slowly turned him over, seeing his skin rapidly becoming pale. "Nalar?"

"Sph … Ruby, I –," He coughed out blood, balling up even more.

Ruby started to panic and she tried to summon a healing sphere over him, frowning as only sparks spurted from her hands. "Shit!" She huffed, regretting not learning how to heal all this time. "Nalar, just hang on, I can go back to Litter and the others."

"Sphalerite …" Nalar finally managed, pushing himself up and covering the whole over his stomach. "I can sense her nearby …"

Ruby looked around, seeing nothing but desert all around, and she frowned, turning back to Nalar. "Let's go find her then."

Holding him up as carefully as she could, Ruby helped Nalar stand and the two continued walking through the desert. "We're gonna be fine, just hang on."

* * *

JASPER LAID her hand on the side of a young grey dragon that lay on a path carved into the side of Black Mount that she and Helio walked upon, the high-pitched cries of the child echoing in her mind from when she last saw him coming back to her. Helio watched as Jasper looked over the body and he looked to Blood Quartz who stretched his arm out to her, sensing his mother's grief even though he didn't understand what was going on.

"Maybe we should just go back." Helio said.

"I can't."

"You've stopped by every single body as we've gone up this mountain; you shouldn't be seeing this." He walked up to her.

Jasper paused and stared at the corpse for a moment, slowly taking her hand off it and turning back to Helio. "Let's keep going." She walked off.

Helio followed her as she went on, noting her faster pace and realizing that she moved past another body without batting an eye. Shaking himself out of it, he looked at his readings on his gauntlet and huffed, catching up with Jasper. "Seems my fears were correct; the gravity here is much stronger than on Home World." He said. "There's no way we can fly."

"It hasn't normally been like this." She said. "The planet is changing."

He looked to the grasslands below, at the corpses that littered the ground. "Maybe we should call this off."

"What're you talking about?" She stopped and turned to him.

"The mission; we can't stop the Diamonds like this." He said. "We've lost our forces and now our last chance to get more power is gone as well. Maybe we should just give up on Home World."

"I'm not going to let the Diamonds get away with what they've done." She said, growing agitated. "I will stop them."

"And what is our plan exactly? Because we're out of options here."

"We find the Elder then I'll take it from there." She said. "I've planned for many years to get to this moment; I'm not giving up now."

Jasper continued up the mountain and Helio huffed, following her. "Who is this 'Elder' anyway?" He asked.

"The Elder Dragon is the guardian leader and father of all Star Dragons, the most powerful of them all; an old and wise ruler." Jasper explained. "He was more of a father to me than my real one was."

The two made their way up Black Mount, drawing closer to the summit, and the presence Jasper felt became more clear and unmistakable for Helio. He wondered however as they went on why the energy he sensed seemed frail and weak, much less imposing than what he'd expect from a being fabled to be stronger than a Diamond. He tried to search his mind when a tremor shook the mountain, almost knocking him and Jasper off their feet!

"What was that?" Jasper looked to Helio when a more powerful quake ripped through the mountain, causing a landslide behind them that destroyed the path behind them!

The two watched in confusion as the quakes continued and looked down below to see a massive crack tear through the valley, letting lava leak out as the core of the planet was slowly exposed! They continued their way up the mountain more quickly when the rocks beneath Helio gave way, sending him falling off the path when Jasper caught him by the arm at the last second! Helio looked up to Jasper, catching his breath as she pulled him up when he realized that Blood had fallen out of his grip, looking down to see the baby plummeting to the lava below!

"Blood!" Jasper cried in terror and Helio jumped down, diving toward the lava and after Blood!

* * *

ZENOTH CROUCHED upon a treetop in the forest surrounding Region White's inner city and closely watched the guards patrolling the city: some of whom flew about inside armored suits, others that road on Quadrabeasts (four-armed gorilla-like monsters) and a few roaming on foot. He listened closely as he connected to the Famethyst gems via telepathic link he'd set up and he waited for his moment to step in, clutching at the hilt of his sword and ready to move out.

An explosion ripped through a building to his far right, drawing the gem guards' attention, and Zenoth recognized the signal, getting to his feet and drawing out his sword. Chanting a spell, the man charged a massive energy pulse and fired it at a lookout tower that stood outside the town, causing it to explode and rapidly collapse, making the guards scramble even more as they tried to put out the fires. Seeing their panic, he leapt off the tree and ran toward the city, covering hundreds of meters in seconds and cutting down a gem guard he came across and entering a street.

Zenoth shook the blood off his blade and looked around as civilians fled in a panic upon seeing the guard's body on the ground, turning to his left to see Beryl, Tanzanite, Amethyst and Lion enter the street. "How's it looking out there?" He asked, moving up to them.

"The guards were on their usual patrol route like we anticipated, so they were easy to take out." Beryl said.

"Their backup should be on its way in a few seconds." Tanzanite said.

"Alright, lay down the circles and proceed as planned – I'll go on ahead and sweep the streets." Zenoth said, speeding off.

"You heard the captain, let's move." Beryl said to Tanzanite who nodded and ran off. He drew out a mallet holstered on his back and headed for the next street when he saw Amethyst simply looking around. "What're you doing?"

"This isn't gonna work; the Diamonds or their captains will be on us and it'll be all over." Amethyst said. Beryl frowned and walked off, completely ignoring her, and Amethyst huffed as Lion joined the others as they engaged the gem guards on the ground, wondering what she should do next.

Elsewhere in the city, Zenoth locked blades with a gem guard and cut him down, chucking his sword into the air and tearing through a Home World ship that came flying toward him, downing the vessel instantly and sending it plummeting to the road below! Summoning the weapon back to him via small portal, he moved further through the street and looked to his right to see an amethyst laying a small round machine on the ground.

Sheathing his sword, Zenoth contacted the others telepathically. "Alright, light it up!"

Nodding, the amethyst pressed a button on the machine and it came to life, releasing a beam of light that shot into the sky! Several Famethyst gems activated other such devices throughout the city, sending out light beams that shot up and curved to a point, spreading outward and creating a photonic dome over the buildings beneath! Magical symbols appeared on the barrier and the gem soldiers below began to panic as their powers began to fluctuate, allowing the Famethyst to take them out with ease.

Zenoth smiled as the battle quickly shifted in their favor, turning his attention to White Diamond's egg-shaped laboratory building that peaked in the distance when an energy blast hit him in the back, sending him flying into a vehicle nearby! Pulling himself out of the wreckage, he looked up and frowned as he saw a woman with a spear sheathed on her back and her six lieutenants arrive, recognizing her and drawing out his sword.

"Seriously? You repay us for sparing you with this?" The woman said.

"You know I couldn't just sit by and let you get away with this." Zenoth frowned. "It's over, Gold."

"That's Gold Diamond to you!" She groaned. "Kids these days, no respect whatsoever." She turned to her lieutenants. "Kill them all."

A loud surge erupted behind Zenoth and he turned to see the barrier collapsing as a gem guard destroyed a projector! Seeing the Famethyst quickly get surrounded by Home World soldiers, he ran to their aid when Gold Diamond tackled him, grabbing him by the neck and pinning against a building! He struggled to break out of her grip and she punched him in the gut, causing a shockwave that obliterated the skyscraper behind him, and she pinned him against the ground!

"What happened to you? All these years and you've only gotten weaker? Pathetic!" Gold frowned.

Zenoth grunted as she tightened her grip and he turned to see an amethyst get cut down by one of her lieutenants. "No!"

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, piss ant!" Gold Diamond yelled, picking him up with one arm and tossing him at a shop opposite her, destroying the building and sending him barreling into the ground and tearing up the next street!

Amethyst dodged falling debris as buildings collapsed from Zenoth's crash and she sidestepped as an armored vehicle fired a laser turret at her! Reacting quickly, she drew out her whip, lassoed a nearby rock and smashed it onto the truck's roof, destroying it! She withdrew the weapon and ran off when she heard a laser blast behind her, looking back to see a gem guard gunning down Tanzanite!

She watched Beryl retaliate against the guard in rage and she looked to her left, seeing three Home World ships drawing in on them.

Nearby, Zenoth pulled himself out of a heap of rubble and witnessed his plan fall to pieces with the arrival of Gold Diamond and her forces who cut down Famethyst members left and right. He tried to contact those that remained telepathically when the Diamond came crashing down on him with her spear, digging the blade deep in his side and drawing blood from his mouth!

"I should kill you here and now for disgracing us, but …" She withdrew her weapon, enjoying seeing him writhe as she tore it out of his flesh. "It'd be too easy killing you when you're barely as strong as you used to be." She turned to a lieutenant that shot down an amethyst nearby. "Toss him and the remainder of his cohorts out of the city." She looked back to him. "If you dare show your face around here again, I won't show you any mercy." With that, she cracked the handle of her spear across his face, knocking him out!

* * *

COLD WINDS swept through the patchy desert in Region White as midnight drew closer, making it difficult for Ruby as Nalar stumbled by every gust as he got weaker and weaker. His blood slowly drenched his body and left his footsteps red in the sand behind him, making Ruby wonder if they'd ever make it in time. As they moved on however, a small building began to peak in the distance, giving Ruby hope.

"Is that it?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, it's –," Nalar tried to speak when he fell over.

"Nalar –," Ruby went to his side when she saw that his legs were slowly turning to ash! "What the?"

Nalar laughed weakly and turned himself on his back, looking up at the sky. "I guess my time's … up now."

"What? But I thought Litter shared her energy with you." She said.

"I was never … going to make it." He coughed out blood, struggling to speak. "I led you here so … so the Moss wouldn't find you, but I guess … even that didn't work."

"But we're so close; I can see Sphalerite's house right there!" She said. "Come on, I can carry you there if you can't –," She reached for his arm, but it disintegrated in her hands!

He smiled wistfully. "I can tell that Leggy isn't alive anymore, so maybe I can finally see her again."

"No, no, I can take you there right now, just hang on." She held his hand.

Nalar's skin paled even more rapidly than before, turning completely gray, and he turned to her as his strength waned. "Thank you for helping me, Ruby …"

"Nalar …?" Ruby's eyes dilated as his hand crumbled and ran between her fingers. "Nalar!" She tried to shake him, but got no response, beginning to panic as his body began to fade away.

The cold winds carried Nalar's ashes as he completely collapsed and Ruby wept as she saw Nalar's face fall apart as he turned to dust. His ashes spread over the ground around her and she shut her eyes as there was nothing she could do to stop it when she felt warmth suddenly spread over her! She looked forward and jerked back in surprise as a healing light sphere slowly spread around her and Nalar's remains.

She turned to her left and saw a tall figure approaching them. "Bismuth?"

* * *

And chapter 5 is done!

I'd honestly planned on killing off Nalar from his inception, but I figured I'd go against my instincts and let him live. I think there's some potential to be explored between him and Ruby, so I think I'll let him stick around. It also created the perfect moment to bring up Bismuth after all this time, so it worked out I guess.

Don't forget to follow us so you don't miss our next chapter "Old Names, Old Faces." If you liked the chapter, check out our Deviantart or Tumblr ( realdoneuniverse) for our character designs!

Thanks for reading.


	15. Home World, Ch6 - Old Names, Old Faces

**OLD NAMES, OLD FACES**

CONNIE SHIELDED her eyes from the desert sand as winds swept by her and Pearl as they made their way toward the inner city of Region Pink. She took a closer look as the dust settled and she felt her heart sink as she saw a massive spiky Black Tower lying at the center of the town up ahead.

"The Black Tower? I thought we destroyed that thing back in Beach City." She said.

"There must've been multiple of them." Pearl frowned. "Pink Diamond must have been the one who designed them, it makes sense now." She walked on. "Let's keep moving."

Connie grew apprehensive as she and Pearl entered the city, wondering if she'd be noticed as they moved on when she saw most of the gems in the city were missing limbs, misshapen or horribly disfigured.

"What happened to them?" Connie asked.

"I don't know." Pearl said. "They might be retired soldiers or something."

"But don't gems all have the ability to regenerate?"

Pearl too became puzzled at this, deciding to continue on toward the Black Tower at the center of the town, all the careful not to draw attention to themselves and sticking to moving among the crowds. Whether it was morbid curiosity or hatred that drove her to look for Pink Diamond, she wanted to see her old master one last time before it was all over, before she could finally kill her by her own hand.

The further they went into the city, the more confused Connie became as she took in the damaged and old buildings and shops that lined the tar road riddled with holes. She wondered why a Diamond would call such a torn down place their home, finding little difference between the city and the Slave Village aside from size. Reaching the center of the city, the two came at the foot of the Black Tower and began to feel tense as they sensed Pink Diamond's immense energy smother them from afar.

Pearl steeled herself and moved toward the edifice with Connie who glanced at the gems guarding the entrance, wondering how they'd make it through. She tried to think when Pearl suddenly buckled up and collapsed on the ground! "Pearl?" Connie raised her brow.

Rushing to her side, Connie turned the pale woman over and froze in shock as she saw that her pupils had completely disappeared and her forehead gem had turned white! "Pearl? Pearl!" She shook her, getting no response.

Connie tried not to panic and began to heal her when she heard the gem guards mutter to each other and run toward her. With no time to escape, the girl drew out her sword and resolved to fight them to protect Pearl, trying to think of a way to beat them without getting overwhelmed. She clashed with a gem guard and cut him down, quickly spinning around to deflect a laser shot with her sword when she saw Pearl's body slowly being levitated off the ground!

"Pearl!" Connie cried out.

"My, my, aren't we noisy." A female voice chuckled, drawing Connie's attention to the Black Tower behind her.

Walking toward her was a tall woman who commanded the attention of the guards as she drew closer to them, causing them to withdraw their attack. They all bowed to her and the leader among them stepped forward to address the woman, immediately making Connie realize who she was.

"Lord Diamond, you need not come here; we'll have these intruders dealt with swiftly." The guard said.

"Hmm …" Pink Diamond raised her brow and looked at Connie, becoming confused. "I thought I sensed Rose here – I must've been in the lab too long." She chuckled and began to take her leave when she finally recognized Pearl, her face lighting up with excitement. "Pearl, you finally returned to me after all this time."

"Let go of her!" Connie demanded.

"You don't seem damaged." Pink Diamond drew Pearl closer to her. "You seem stronger than before, much stronger." She smiled and reached out to the Gem. "This is perfect."

"I said let her go!" Connie yelled and swung at Pink Diamond, cutting her hand clean off her wrist!

Pink Diamond withdrew in pain and Connie jerked back in surprise, shocked at what she'd just done, and the guards quickly drew their weapons. "Eliminate her!" Pink Diamond ordered as she regenerated her severed limb and the men charged at Connie.

Reforming her hand, the Diamond turned to Pearl and lifted her back up telepathically, smiling as she looked at the unconscious gem and studied her eyes.

* * *

ON EARTH in a market in the Hidden Leaf Village, a girl stared at a vegetable stand for a bit, beginning to irritate the man at the stand. She stood there for a bit and eyed the tomatoes and greens in front of her when a blue-haired girl nudged her, shaking her out of her thoughts.

"Hey, Sumiko, are you still here?" The pink-haired girl said.

"Uh, yeah, yeah." The girl said, handing some coins to the vegetable seller. "Five tomatoes please."

"Why do you keep drifting off like that, huh?" A pink-haired girl who stood beside Sumiko said, tapping her head repeatedly. "Wake the fuck up why don'tcha!"

"Hey, I'm older than you." Sumiko said, trying to hide the fact that the tapping hurt a little.

"Yeah, well, act like it; I'm tired of picking up your slack." The pink-haired girl said and walked off with a basket in hand. "Come on, mom's waiting."

Sumiko frowned and a blue-haired girl came up to her with the tomatoes she brought. "Don't let her get to you, Sumiko, you're doing just fine." She put the tomatoes into her basket. "Let's go."

Sumiko watched the two rejoin their mother by a large shop up ahead and she huffed to herself and rejoined them. "Why'd you take so long? I only needed a few tomatoes." Sumiko's mother said.

"Sumiko drifted off again." The pink-haired girl said. "Probably staring at the boys around here, huh?"

"No, I'm not." Sumiko retorted.

"You were staring at the girls? Yeesh, Sumiko." The pink-haired girl mocked.

"Just leave me alone, okay!" Sumiko walked off.

"Sumiko!" The blue-haired girl called, getting no response, and she turned to the pink-haired girl. "You need to stop being mean to her."

"It is a little weird if she's into girls." Sumiko's mother said.

"She just needs some space, alright?" The blue-haired girl said, looking to Sumiko as she headed back to their home. "She's just a little slow."

"Yeah, slow 'cause a' all the pussy out here, am I right?" The pink-haired girl walked on.

"Hey, language." Their mother chastised.

"I'm just saying." The pink-haired girl chuckled as the three made their way out of the market

Meanwhile on the village's outskirts, a tall pink-haired woman roamed a lab in a building hidden in the forest, looking over her plans once more. She moved past piles of old books and scrolls, and magic esoteric diagrams and ritual drawings on the walls and floor. Glancing at a dismembered arm she'd experimented upon, she grunted in frustration and left the room.

Moving through the halls of the secret building, she came up to two armed ninja who stopped before her. "You called us, Master Harumi?" One of the men said.

"I think it's about time we sped up our plans." Harumi said. "I want you to find a clan member of the Uchiha and harvest their eyes by nightfall; we're running out of time."

"Yes, Master." The men said in unison and they vanished.

* * *

HELIO LANDED at the foot of Black Mount in Dragonbloom with a loud thud, jerking back as a strip of lava shot out of the ground nearby. He looked out before him, seeing fissures in the ground spread over several meters and slowly let lava leak out to the surface! Stepping forward, he looked around for Blood and wondered where the infant was when he heard a crash behind him, turning back to see Jasper landing.

"Where is he?" Jasper asked as she walked up to him.

"I can't see him anywhere." Helio responded.

"We have to find him quickly." Jasper said when a crack ripped the ground, tearing through the mountain behind them and creating a chasm between them. "Go!"

Helio nodded and darted off, using a small drone-like tracker that flew off in another direction, and Jasper made her way back to the valley they came from. She called out to the child as she searched, struggling to come up with any ideas as he could neither speak nor emit a strong enough energy signature for her to sense, leaving her running blind. The quakes grew worse and worse as she and Helio continued their search and she began to worry about the Elder Dragon, wondering if he was even alive to begin with.

A loud explosion cut Jasper's thoughts and she jumped back as a wall of lava burst from the ground before her, sending up smoke that darkened the skies above. The beautiful grasslands around her quickly burned as molten rock sprayed all around her, quickly surrounding her as a deep abyss began to form around her. She turned heel to avoid collapsing underground when the quakes suddenly stopped!

Jasper frowned and slowly turned as she felt an immense energy erupting behind her and she saw Blood raising his hand to the sky and guiding the lava back underground!

"Blood …"

* * *

AMETHYST SLID down a slope in the forest outside Region White, hissing as she closed a gash on her arm, and she returned to the Famethyst who were recuperating from the attack. Few members survived their loss at the hands of Gold Diamond, a Diamond she neither heard of nor expected to come across, and the group was at wit's end on what to do next. She grumbled to herself in frustration, knowing this would happen, and she searched for Lion when she saw Beryl seated on a rock alone further away from the others.

Amethyst grew cold as she remembered what'd happened, slowly making her way to Beryl, unsure of what to say to him. "Leave me alone, Amethyst." Beryl said without turning.

Amethyst tried to speak, but hesitated, moving up and sitting beside him. "… I'm sorry about what I said earlier, I wasn't thinking about you at all."

Beryl looked at her then turned to the trees up ahead. "It'd been a couple years, couple years since I met Tanzanite." He huffed, holding back tears. "We were on a mission, had just reunited with 8XJ, 8XL and 8XG, and we were going strong; the Famethyst had never been better. She and I were scouts and we spent a lot of time together … she was stubborn, had a dry sense of humor, but she understood me more than anyone else did." He sighed shakily. "I should have listened to you."

"No, I don't deserve any credit; I didn't even try to help you guys and I was just hung up that you were with someone else. " She said. "I'm sorry about what happened."

"We can't change fate now can we?" He replied. "We made our decisions and suffered the consequences."

She sighed. "Yeah." She sat back and looked at the stars above. "This shit never stops, does it? No matter how far we come, there's always something to lose; what fucking bullshit."

"Yeah." He chuckled wistfully.

"I honestly don't remember much about our time together outside of fucking honestly." She said. "I somehow convinced myself that we had a lot 'cause I stayed with you the longest, but I still used you like I used everyone else before and after. You deserve better than me."

Beryl mulled this over and looked to the others. "I guess this's all over now …"

"No, it's not over." Amethyst turned to him. "We lost our friends along the way and lost our armies to, but as long as we're alive there's still a chance." She held his hand. "We'll win against the Diamonds, one way or another."

Beryl hesitated, but smiled slightly. "Yeah, you're right."

"Great." Amethyst stood up. "Now let's find this Zenoth guy."

* * *

MEANWHILE IN the Hidden Leaf Village, Sumiko stared blindly into the soup pot as she stirred it over the fire in her family's home, her eyes glazed as her mind went blank. She warred with whispers in her head that came and went, struggling to hear what they were saying though at odds with how they felt familiar yet new all at once. She continued stirring absentmindedly when she heard a loud crash that jolted her out of her daze, seeing the food spilled all over the floor before her.

"Sumiko, are you okay?" The blue-haired girl cried as she rushed into the room. "What happened?"

"I …" Sumiko blinked and looked at her hand, seeing a burn from where the soup had spilled. "What's going on?"

"Ya daydreaming again?" Her pink-haired sister said as she stood at the entrance of the room. "Why do we let you cook exactly?"

"Hey, she's done this many times before." The blue-haired girl said.

"Well, she's clearly getting worse." The pink-haired girl said. "I mean shit; I obsess over boys sometimes, but this shit's ridiculous. Heh, guess drooling over other bitches is different, huh?"

"Stop it, you're not helping!" The blue-haired girl frowned as she tended to her wound.

"I'm sorry, I'll clean this up." Sumiko stood up.

"No, no, I'll take care of this." The blue-haired girl said. "You should get that burn treated."

Sumiko looked at her hand and grimaced as she felt pain in her head instead, heading out the door and passed the pink-haired girl. "Hey, Sumiko, don't stress about it, alright? I'm just messing with ya; you'll be fine." She said as she left the room.

Sumiko made her way down the halls and squinted as she didn't feel any pain from her burn at all. She raised her brow and entered a room were her mother was setting dinner. "Sumiko, come help me prepare for dinner, okay?" Her mother said.

Nodding, she moved up to the mat and started arranging the bowls around, hesitating as she picked the fourth plate. "He'll be back, Sumiko, don't worry." Her mother said with a soft smile, noticing the scald on her hand. "What happened?"

"I was cooking and …" Sumiko frowned as she failed to finish her sentence.

"Sumiko, this's the fourth time this's happened." Her mother said. "Is something wrong? You can talk to me about it." She sighed as Sumiko remained silent and she offered a smile. "I'll be here whenever you're ready to talk, okay? If something's bothering you, I'll be here to listen."

Sumiko nodded slightly, not fully listening to her, when a scream cut their conversation short and the two jerked up. "Your sisters!" Sumiko's mother realized

"Do you really think it's wise to just barge in? We're supposed to be stealthy about this." A man's voice came from outside.

"Well, we fucked up the operation, so there's no point anymore." A second man said.

"You mean **_you_** fucked up, dipshit!"

Sumiko and her mother quickly rose to their feet as two of Harumi's ninja broke their door down and her mother's face went pale as she saw a man's severed head hanging from one of the men's belts. "Dad …?" Sumiko finally spoke.

"Ugh, I told you to put that away!" The first ninja said.

"Hey, Harumi said she wanted the eyes of a Uchiha and I'm not gonna carry a body around all day." The second ninja said. "And if those of a dead man won't do, we should bring of them alive."

Sumiko's mother screamed in horror and the second ninja pinned her down and put a hand over her mouth in a split second! "Mom!" Sumiko cried when the first ninja bound her as well.

"Shh, this'll be painless." The first ninja said.

"It's just as we thought," The second ninja said, looking into Sumiko's mother's eyes. "They haven't awakened their eyes; only the father has."

"What do you mean?" The first frowned.

"He's right, neither have these two." A third ninja said as he and another arrived dragging in the blue and pink-haired girls both of whom they'd gagged.

"Let go of them!" Sumiko's mother cried.

"Now, what'd I say about talking?" The second ninja held Sumiko's mother by her neck, turning to the first ninja. "So, what do we do now? They should have awakened their Sharingan by now. Are they late bloomers or something?"

"Seeing the head of a family member should be traumatizing enough to awaken the eyes." The first ninja said, thinking for a bit. "Well, since we've got what we wanted anyway." He turned to Sumiko with a sadistic grin. "We can have a bit of fun here."

Sumiko raised her brow in confusion when the second ninja drew out a kunai and stabbed her mother's neck! "Mom!" She screamed when the first ninja pinned her back against a wall.

Sumiko struggled and watched in horror as the other ninja forced her sisters on the floor and began ripping their clothes off, overwhelming the girls who had nowhere to run! She was forced to watch helplessly as the two men forced themselves on the girls in front of her, their screams piercing the night air as they were brutally raped. Tears ran down her cheeks as she witnessed the terrible display when her eyes began to transform, her pupils becoming red and forming a black marking as her Sharingan opened!

"Wait, wait!" The first ninja yelled at the others. "Her eyes have awoken."

The ninja stared at Sumiko, cautiously rising to their feet and backing away from her, and she became confused as to why their demeanor suddenly changed. Seeing that nothing happened, the first ninja ginned and punched her to the ground, knocking her out cold.

* * *

RUBY STARED at Bismuth as she walked ahead of her while levitating Nalar's slowly reforming body inside a healing bubble, wondering where she had been this whole time. She tried to speak, having walked for some time in silence when they made their way up to a small red hut that sat in the middle of the desert on its own. "I'm sure this's where Nalar was bringing you." Bismuth said. "Welcome to Sphalerite's home."

Holding the beaded curtain at the entrance aside, Bismuth led Ruby into the small building that was surprisingly larger on the inside than it appeared. Ruby looked in awe at the many ornaments and trinkets that hang up on the wall along with several books and strange vials that were set in a circle beneath a levitating book at the center of the room. She froze in place as she saw a large skull-shaped specter that hovered overhead, paying no heed to her and Bismuth, and she backed up in surprise when she bumped into someone behind her.

"Hey, what're you doing in my house?" A ruby woman with long flowing white hair said as she entered the room after them.

"I, uh –,"

"Nalar!" The woman interrupted Ruby and held her hand up, directing the bubble he was held in onto a nearby stone slab that lit up with magical symbols as she set him down. "What happened?" She turned to Bismuth.

"I found them being attacked by Mosslings, but I was late." Bismuth replied. "I can still sense his energy, but it's very faint."

"I need to work on him quickly." The ruby woman said, channeling energy through her palms and placing them on the healing sphere Nalar was in, shifting the energies within and slowly reconstructing his body. "This fool, if he'd come to me sooner, I'd have freed him from his gemstone constraints."

"You're Sphalerite?" Ruby asked, walking up to the woman.

Sphalerite turned to her, scrutinizing her from head to toe. "Hmm, Nalar doesn't have many male friends, huh? Just one girl after another." She continued attending to Nalar, confusing Ruby with her comment.

"Sphalerite was a mage under Blue Diamond who fled Region Blue after discovering a way of separating a gem from their gemstone." Bismuth said, turning to Ruby. "I volunteering a couple years ago after we crossed paths and I'm free now." She pulled down her collar, revealing that her gemstone was now gone!

"How's that possible?" Ruby said. "A gemstone's the center of our life force we can't just live without it; look at Nalar!"

"Gems are a synthetic creation by the Diamonds and the gemstones corrupted our bodies down to our very cells." Sphalerite said. "We weren't always gems."

"What?"

"We were all captured from different worlds and brought to the Diamonds' Home Worlds to be transformed into their slave race." Bismuth said. "We all had our own identities; Xandarian, Terran, Vulcan, Thanagarian, and they took it all away from us."

Ruby squinted as she tried to process this, looking at the gemstone in her palm and slumping on a chair nearby, dumbfounded. "… I'm not from Home World?"

"None of us were." Sphalerite said. "But that information won't help the Crystal Gems defeat the Diamonds, nothing will."

"Wait, you're just gonna give up?"

"The Diamonds are only getting stronger by the minute and they'll destroy all of Region Pink now that Black Diamond is awakened." Sphalerite said. "If we can get off-world before it's all over then we can save ourselves."

"I can't have come this far just to give up like this." Ruby said. "There has to be something we can do."

Sphalerite paused and looked at Nalar as she finished reconstructing his face, smiling slightly. "He must've seen something special in you to push himself this far after all this." Duplicating herself, she left an ethereal clone attending to Nalar and walked up to some scrolls, turning back to Ruby. "Maybe we have a chance to defeat the Diamonds, now that you're here."

* * *

ZENOTH STOOD at the edge of the forest outside Region White's capital and stared at the city, his mind plagued with worries as to what the Famethyst's next action was. It was his fault, he knew it; his carelessness and pride drove him to act without thinking and now he'd lost a good chunk of his forces, his friends among them. He stepped back into the woods and tried to think when he suddenly saw the color drain from the world around him, bringing a frown to his face as he felt an all too familiar presence.

"Lucifer." A male voice mockingly called.

"Don't call me that." Zenoth snapped back.

"Oh, what, you don't like the name I gave you?" A bright light appeared behind Zenoth and out of it came a tall, glowing, three-eyed yellow-skinned man clad in a black suit and coat embellished with a constellation pattern. Conjuring a staff, the being gleamed and floated into the air, looking at the planet around him. "I haven't been here in a while; I like what the women have done with the place."

"What are you doing here, Cipher? I don't need your help." Zenoth said.

"I think you do." Bill turned to him. "That fight was embarrassing – after all that training, you just let Gold disgrace you like that?"

"Get out of my head!" Zenoth yelled.

"Oh, but I'm a part of you, you know that." Bill moved up to him. "If you want to achieve anything, you can't do it without using your full power!" Zenoth hesitated and Bill smiled, swerving around him. "You've lost friends and over half of your forces are gone while the women just get stronger; you need me."

"I said get out!" Zenoth drew his sword and Bill Cipher vanished with a laugh.

Zenoth panted and looked around when he saw Amethyst, Beryl and Lion walking up to him. "Is something wrong?" Beryl asked.

"No, I …" Zenoth sheathed his sword, moving up to them. "Tell the others to regroup; we need to figure out a new plan to take out the Diamonds."

"We can't do that right now." Beryl said. "We'll need to pull back."

"What?" Zenoth said, failing to cover his anger.

"We lost a lot of our men and the rest are trying to heal." Beryl said. "We lost, Zenoth – let's regain our strength and live to fight another day."

Zenoth sighed and looked at the rest of the Famethyst who were sitting in an opening further away from them. "You're right, we should leave for now."

Zenoth walked off and Beryl followed him, leaving Amethyst behind as she looked at the city for a moment. "Wait." She turned to them. "I think I'm sensing something."

"What?" Beryl asked.

"It's Lapis and Sapphire, they're in the city!" Amethyst said with a smile.

"Lapis? You mean one of White Diamond's commanders?" Zenoth asked.

"It's a long story, but I'm sure it's them." Amethyst said. "If we can find them and the other Crystal Gems, we can have a chance to take out Yellow Diamond."

Zenoth smiled. "Let's do it."

* * *

ON DRAGONBLOOM, Helio looked around in awe as the lava bursting from the ground began to recede on its own, along with the fissures that tore the planet apart! He moved around Black Mount and saw Jasper carrying Blood in her arms. "You found him!" He quickly ran up to him. "Is he alright?"

"He's more than alright; his powers have awakened." Jasper said. "He's the one who slowed down the planet's destruction!"

Helio looked at Blood in surprise, smiling as the infant held his hand out to him. "Well, I guess you're special after all."

Helio reached out to Blood when the earth rumbled and he looked around to see a piece of the ground break off beneath him and Jasper and levitate them toward Black Mount. "I guess we don't have to walk up to the summit anymore." Jasper said, gaining a chuckle from Helio.

Guiding the rock beneath them, Blood levitated the trio toward the summit, setting them down and leaving them on the mountain near its peak. Looking to the top of the mountain, Jasper thought for a moment and handed Blood to Helio, stepping away from them. "Wait here for me."

"Alright." Helio said, curious as to what she was doing.

Walking away from the two, Jasper made her way to the top of Black Mount and she hesitated at the last steps of the path, feeling her father's presence more clearly than before. Huffing, she walked up to the top and saw a large 40-foot tall black dragon seated on the rocks and looking off to the sunset, bringing a smile of relief to her as she knew he was still alive.

Her smile died however as she realized that he was much smaller than before, making her hesitant as she approached him. "Jasper, you finally arrived." Elder Dragon said, not turning to her. "It's been so long."

"Elder, I …" Jasper tried to speak when she saw more bodies of dragons down in the valley below, steeling herself as she moved up to his side. "What happened to them?"

The Elder sighed. "When realities began to merge years ago, it destabilized the cosmos in many ways, but I couldn't have foreseen this."

"The planet's decay …" Jasper realized.

"Our life force is tied to the cosmic energies of the multiverse and if it's corrupted, it affects us as well." The Elder explained. "I'm the only survivor in Dragonbloom."

Jasper tried to speak when the Elder Dragon interrupted her. "You seek my power to defeat the Diamonds now that your armies are gone." He said.

Jasper nodded, having let him read her mind. "It's our only hope to save Home World now; we can't defeat the Diamonds on our own."

"I won't help you."

"What? The Diamonds are destroying Home World as we speak, we have to stop this!" Jasper said.

"I already know that, but I won't help you because you don't want to save Home World from the Diamonds." The Elder said. "You never have."

* * *

IN REGION Pink, Ruby rose from her seat in Sphalerite's hut, looking at the white-haired woman in confusion. "What're you talking about? How does me being here change anything?"

"The Crystal Gems can't fight the Diamonds, no gem can." Sphalerite began. "Our gemstones allow the Diamonds to control our minds and bodies and we'll be rendered useless if we try to engage them."

"So, we can't fight them no matter what?"

"Only if we have our gemstones." Sphalerite said. "I can't completely reverse gemification, but if I take out your gems, you'll be free from the Diamonds – essentially, you'll no longer be a gem."

Ruby thought a little bit and looked to Bismuth then back at Sphalerite. "… I've hated my life ever since I woke up here; all I've had is pain and misery and everyone looking down on me just because I was a ruby. But if I never was a ruby, I'd have never met the Crystal Gems or Sapphire … or Nalar." She looked to the ruby with a smile as his body was fully reconstructed then turned back to Sphalerite. "I'm a gem whether I like it or not, and we'll defeat the Diamonds as gems."

Sphalerite huffed. "Well, I guess it'll take a while before I have another candidate to experiment on, but take this with you then." She picked up a scroll and handed it to her. "It's a spell for Gem Sealing; it should distort the Diamonds' magic and stop them from being able to control you."

Ruby received the scrolls, looking at the symbols on its cover, and she tried to speak when she heard a grunt from behind her, looking back to see Nalar coming to! "Nalar?"

"Ugh, what happened?" Nalar rubbed his head in pain as he sat up, jerking back as he realized he had both eyes! "What the?" Nalar began to panic when Ruby kissed him, stunning him.

"Well, that's new." Bismuth said.

"What's going on here?" Nalar asked.

"I brought you here and we found Sphalerite." Ruby said then smirked, holding up the scrolls. "Now, I need you to return the favor."

* * *

SUMIKO GROANED as she awoke in Harumi's secret lab on the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf Village on earth, panicking as she realized she was gagged and strapped to a table. She looked around and the different magical charts on the walls and scrolls and vials on working desks around her and she let out a muffled scream as she saw her sisters bound to other tables like she was.

She heard a door creak open to her left and saw Harumi enter the room. "Those worthless bastards!" The woman screamed, knocking over scrolls on a table. "After years of searching and planning, they bring me three girls with underdeveloped Sharingan!" She took a deep breath and calmed herself.

Moving over to Sumiko, Harumi held the pink-haired girl's eyes open, studying her pupils. "At least you have two tomoe in one eye, but this won't do." She looked around and flipped open a book. "I guess I'll have to try to accelerate your development and since I have three tries, I can try out a technique I invented." She smirked, drawing out a large knife and moving up to Sumiko who thrashed about as she drew closer. "Don't worry, I'll make sure this hurts."

Harumi plunged the blade into Sumiko's stomach and turned it, enjoying her screams as she slowly drew it out, tearing off bits of flesh in the knife's grooves! Sumiko quickly lost consciousness as the pain overwhelmed her and Harumi stood over her, glancing at her sisters and smiling as they were horrified at the sight of this.

Time went by as Harumi carried out her brutal experiments on Sumiko, slowly losing interest in its progress as she only managed to activate the second tomoe after months of ritual torture. Sumiko spent her days in and out of consciousness as she was tortured and starved by Harumi, and she became more or less of another trinket in her lab as she was held in there for nearly a year. As she was there, she overheard the woman's plans to collect Gaia Energy, though she never understood what any of it meant.

One day, Harumi and her men took Sumiko to a strange temple far from the Hidden Leaf along with several captives from different villages. Brought inside the structure, Sumiko witnessed a gruesome ceremony as Harumi drained the blood of the villagers into nine bowls set up before the statue of a woman's head and stood before it with arms held out as strange vines crept out of the ground and wrapped around her. A bright light shone out of her and she stepped forth, completely transformed into a 30-foot giant with a glowing body!

"I've finally done it! I've achieved the power of a god!" Harumi cried in excitement, holding out her hand and drawing Sumiko to her telepathically. "Are you not happy for me, my pet?" She laughed. "Since I like you and your sisters, I'll take you with me."

"You'll take them? Where'll you be going?" The first ninja asked.

"I no longer have use for you." Harumi clenched her fist and crushed his body to bits, terrifying Sumiko. "Let's go, little one." She smiled and vanished.

* * *

YEARS LATER on Home World, Harumi appeared before Blue Diamond's palace with Sumiko and her sisters held in floating pods behind her, immediately alerting the gem guards who drew their weapons on her. She smiled as they drew closer, completely ignoring them, and she looked forward to see Blue Diamond emerging from the palace and studying her as she approached.

"You must be Blue Diamond, I finally found you." Harumi said.

"Who are you?" Blue Diamond said. "For you to have gone past all our defenses, you must be incredibly strong."

"I've searched far and wide to find this place so I could join your ranks." Harumi explained.

"You want to join us?"

"I learned to tap into the primordial energies of my planet Terra and attained godhood." Harumi said. "With my knowledge and power I've attained travelling the universe, I am the perfect candidate to become a Diamond."

Blue Diamond chuckled. "You presume too much, but I like your boldness; you clearly possess the strength you boast of." She studied her. "If you impress the others as you have with me, we can make you one of us." She looked at the girls. "What are those things?"

"They're slaves I've come to grow fond of, especially this one." She pointed at Sumiko. "I never learned its name, so I call it 'Pearl'."

Blue Diamond smiled. "Then come and meet the others, Pink Diamond."

* * *

IN THE PRESENT, Pearl gasped and collapsed on the ground in Region Pink, looking around and regaining her bearings as she saw Connie surrounded by gem guards. She slowly rose as she tried to recollect herself and she turned to see Pink Diamond before her, becoming furious. "Harumi!" She conjured a spear and took a fighting stance.

"Huh, I haven't heard that name in millennia." Pink Diamond said. "I must have accidentally rebooted your gemstone when that putrid Terran attacked me."

"You piece of shit, you took everything from me!" Pearl frowned. "My family –," She finally realized. "Blue and Pink Pearl!"

"Your family, what're you talking about?" Connie asked.

"Oh, what are those two up to anyway? I heard Blue Diamond got bored of them and cast them out into the Slave Village." Pink Diamond said. "You should be able to find them, if the Moss haven't gotten there already."

Pink Diamond burst out in laughter and Pearl fell to her knees as she realized what happened, not hearing Connie as she called for help as the gem guards attacked her.


	16. Home World, Ch7 - Connie's Sword 1

**Connie's Sword**

PEARL EYES were set low to the ground outside the Black Tower in Region Pink's capital when it came washing over her; the realization of what had happened to her family - to Pink and Blue Pearl – and who she once was before she was a gem. These thoughts consumed her mind, blocking out Connie calling out to her as she defended herself against Pink Diamond's guards that surrounded her.

"I must say, it's impressive how quickly you escaped my psychic hold on you, Pearl." Pink Diamond said, walking up to the Gem. "And you've finally awakened your Sharingan after all this time. You really were a slow one."

"How many more were there? How many Terrans did you turn into gems?" Pearl asked, not looking at Pink Diamond.

"Hmm, aside from the Amethysts, I'm not sure how many other Terrans we turned." Pink Diamond turned to the townspeople in the distance. "We needed many species to experiment on when creating gems and I never kept track honestly. You'd have to ask White Diamond for that one."

"Amethyst's a human too?" Pearl's said under her breath.

"Well, I think we've had enough reminiscing for one day." Pink Diamond said. "I'll be taking your eyes Pearl, along with my old apprentice's weapon." She pointed at Connie.

Connie locked blades with a gem guard and looked at her sword as she heard Pink Diamond. "Rose worked for you?"

* * *

LAPIS WATCHED White Diamond as she descended to the lower platform in the Lazuli assembly lab in Region White's capital, struggling to hide her rage as the Diamond moved up to an Agate who supervised operations in the facility. Sapphire stared at the Diamond as well then turned her focus to Lapis as she saw her slowly transform from an Agate back to her normal form, compromising her disguise.

"Lapis, calm down; you're blowing your cover." Sapphire said to her telepathically, but the gem ignored her. "Lapis!"

White Diamond looked over the biometric scans of the Lazuli androids with two Agate scientists on a screen nearby when she began to feel a familiar presence nearby, turning around to see Lapis glaring at her alongside Sapphire who was still under disguise. "Why is that Lazuli already active?" White Diamond asked her Agates.

"What do you mean, Lord Diamond?" An Agate beside her asked then raised her brow in surprise as she saw Lapis, checking her computer then becoming puzzled. "T-that's not one of ours."

"Not one of ours …?" White Diamond said then frowned as she remembered. "Lapis!"

"So, this's what you meant by artificial gems? You're creating more gems like me!" Lapis yelled.

"Lapis, stop." Sapphire said.

White Diamond stared at Lapis blankly, barely listening to her then she squinted at Sapphire as she shed her guise accidentally, sensing her familiar energy. "Blue Diamond?"

Finally losing it, Lapis thrust her arm at White Diamond, blasting her with a wave of water that smashed her against a nearby wall and pinned her back! The Agates in the lab began to panic, some of them reaching for emergency alarms, and Sapphire reacted quickly, conjuring a massive vortex of water around her that tore through the lab and broke through the surrounding walls.

Sapphire panted and looked at the Agates that were now buried in the rubble and turned to White Diamond who was held down by Lapis, shaking her head. "I didn't want to do this without finding the others first, but I guess I don't have a choice now." Sapphire turned back to her normal form and levitated into the air. "Let's kill this bitch."

White Diamond chuckled. "So, this's what Blue Diamond hid from us, huh? You're her child, Sapphire."

"Took you long enough." Sapphire said.

"Well, well, I'll have to take it up with her after I'm done here." White Diamond said.

"Enough!" Lapis cried and bashed White Diamond through the wall, flying after her and punching her into the next room!

White Diamond crashed against the floor in the adjoining lab and landed smack against a wall, blankly staring at Lapis and Sapphire as they charged after her. The two Gems engaged the Diamond and tore further into the building, failing to notice the ceiling collapsing behind them and smashing onto two containment pods in the other corner of the room. Caulifla groaned as she rose from her chamber that came open and she looked on in confusion as Sapphire, Lapis and White Diamond. Turning to her left, she saw Kale still unconscious in her pod and she quickly got up and picked her out of it.

* * *

CONNIE FROZE in surprise upon hearing Pink Diamond's words, turning back to the Diamond. "Rose was your apprentice?"

"Ah, and the best one I had too." Pink Diamond said, looking to the sky above. "Years ago, I felt her energy spread across the galaxy like a fire; it was truly terrifying. It was far stronger than anything I had felt in a long time and as quickly as it sprung up, it vanished." She turned to Pearl and Connie. "I suppose I have you Crystal Gems to thank, don't I? If you hadn't defeated Rose before she fully ascended, she would have surely killed me, White, Yellow and Blue Diamond quite easily."

Pearl gritted her teeth in anger, remembering her last moments with Rose on earth, and Pink Diamond moved up to her. "Now, now, don't despair." Pink Diamond said. "I'll be sure to make your deaths swift."

Pink Diamond clenched her fist and drew Pearl toward her, strangling her telekinetically, and Pearl quickly summoned a clone that charged at the Diamond from behind! Pearl's doppelganger swung her sword at Pink Diamond's neck when she suddenly fell over and collapsed on the sand below. Pearl coughed as she slowly got to her feet, confused as to what had happened and she looked around her.

"What the hell?" Pearl said as she and her clone stood on the beach outside the temple in Beach City!

* * *

IN REGION White during Sapphire, Lapis and White Diamond's fight, Sapphire shot ice at White Diamond's feet and bound her to the floor, allowing Lapis to smack her down with a massive water whip, crashing her into the concrete! The dust from the collision slowly settled and Sapphire and Lapis approached the giant goddess, confused as she lay there amongst the rubble.

"Something's not right here." Sapphire said.

"I know, right?" Lapis said. "If any of the Crystal Gems could take on a Diamond, it'd be us, but –,"

"This's too easy." Sapphire frowned.

White Diamond blinked as she finally noticed the ceiling falling apart and she turned her head lazily to the other end of the room, seeing Kale and Caulifla's containment pods empty. "Hmm …"

"Hey!" Sapphire walked onto the Diamond's chest, the five-foot-six tall woman looking tiny atop the thirty-foot giant. "What's your game here, White Diamond?"

"So, the Moss have completed their extermination of Region Pink's slaves already; impressive." White Diamond said to herself, completely ignoring Sapphire.

"What?"

"I have work to do." White Diamond said.

"What're you talking about?" Sapphire asked when the giant slowly began to vanish!

"No, you're not getting away from us!" Lapis yelled, conjuring up water for an attack, but the Diamond disappeared!

Sapphire floated above the floor, stunned as the goddess completely escaped them, and she turned to Lapis who screamed in rage. "Lapis, calm down."

"No, no, no! She can't get away!" Lapis ran out of the room.

"Lapis, stop, you don't even know where she went!" Sapphire chased after her.

Lapis headed for the door at the other end of the room when a pink portal opened before her, letting out Lion, Amethyst, and Zenoth as they came through the gateway from the city outskirts! "Amethyst?" Lapis said as she came to a stop.

"Lion, Amethyst!" Sapphire said excitedly when she laid her eyes on Zenoth, a sense of dread consuming her as she sensed his energy and kept her distance.

"I knew you were both here!" Amethyst smiled at Lapis then saw Sapphire remaining behind. "Sapphire?"

* * *

PEARL LOOKED around with eyes wide in surprise, the sounds of crashing waters and heat of the sun washing over her as she took in Beach City's surroundings. The Temple stood tall on the face of the mountain as it always did and she could faintly hear Rose and the others laughing inside – it was almost like she never left.

"So, this's where Rose made a home for herself." Pink Diamond said as she slowly materialized beside her, much smaller than her normal form, moving up to the Temple and observing the building. "She was a brilliant craftsman."

"Yes, she was …" Pearl smiled slightly.

"You and I both loved her when she was alive." Pink Diamond turned to Pearl. "She may be gone, but I'm still here; we can return things back to the way they used to be, just you and me."

"But, what about Steven and the others." Pearl looked to the Temple nearby, still hearing their voices inside. "What would they think if they knew about us and Rose …"

"They don't have to know; it doesn't matter what they think." Pink Diamond moved up to her, sensing the pale woman's discomfort. "Pearl, look at me." She turned the Gem to her. "If it means so much to you, then we'll tell them together, alright? There'll be nothing to worry about."

Pearl hesitated. "Are you sure?"

Pearl looked into Pink Diamond's eyes, her heart pounding as she got lost in them, and the taller woman moved in to kiss her. Their lips locked and the two women held each other in a loving embrace, Pearl all the while failing to notice a black mass moving over the sand and spreading toward her feet.


	17. Home World, Ch8 - Connie's Sword 2

IN REGION Pink, Pearl grunted as she lay unconscious on the ground at Pink Diamond's feet, the goddess eyeing her with a mixture of lust and malice. Connie cut down the last of Pink Diamond's guards that attacked her and she dashed to Pearl's rescue when Pink Diamond blew her back telekinetically with the flick of her wrist, sending her tumbling on the ground.

"Tsk, you lowly mortals never know your place." Pink Diamond said, moving up to Connie.

"I won't let you kill her." Connie said as she pushed herself up, hissing as she'd cut her elbow when she fell.

"I wonder why you Crystal Gems came here in the first place." Pink Diamond said. "Even if you somehow found a way to kill Rose, you cannot fight a Diamond because all gems are under our control. Even stranger is why you'd keep Rose's sword; I thought you were no longer allies."

Connie squinted and looked at Rose's sword, sensing the Gaia Energy flowing through the blade and she considered what Pink Diamond said. "I heard many stories of how Rose risked her life to save countless others with this sword and how she fought Home World so one day all gems could be freed." She clenched Rose's sword and looked to Pink Diamond. "Even if that goal drove her to become a monster, I won't let it die with her. This is my sword now and Rose's dream will live on with me!"

Connie took a stance and faced down Pink Diamond when a bright light suddenly emanated from the sword and vines grew out from its hilt and spread over her arm and dug into her skin. She held up the weapon and watched in awe as Rose's sword merged with her!

* * *

PEARL LAUGHED as she sat in the Temple living room with Pink Diamond, Rose, Garnet and Amethyst while Steven sat up in his room nearby. The five women chattered excitedly in the room, not noticing another Pearl who materialized by the entrance of the house and watched them. She looked as the first Pearl spoke to the other Gems and the Diamond, finally piecing together what was happening.

"I never let go of her, did I?" Pearl said, looking at her younger self in the living room. "I broke free from her, but I was still bound to her in my mind." She looked at Rose. "Or I just went from one master to another."

"Is this where you were all this time?" Pink Diamond's voice came as she appeared beside her, only partly standing in the room as the rest of her thirty-foot form phased through the roof above. "What a disgusting place to call home." She said as she stared at Pearl's memories from above, seeing her younger self sitting among the Crystal Gems. "What is this?"

"It's what I wanted back then I guess; to be with the two women I loved and to never have been part of the war in the first place." Pearl said. "I didn't want to accept the truth that you were abusing me, nor did I realize that Rose continued to do the same. I guess I had to see for myself who you truly were."

"How unfortunate." Pink Diamond shrank down until she was ten feet tall, looking around the room. "I didn't even like you all that much, and Rose was more sexually talented than you were."

"Yeah, you can put it like that ..." Pearl said.

"It seems accidentally resetting your gemstone tampered with your Sharingan." Pink Diamond crossed her arms. "I didn't plan on entering your memories."

"You didn't come here by accident." Pearl said. "I brought you here so I could kill you by my own hand."

"Kill me?" Pink Diamond chuckled. "You have no power to do so and I can leave this place any time I want." She snapped her fingers and raised her brow as nothing happened. "What is this?"

"We're not in my memories exactly." Pearl said and turned to her, conjuring her spear. "This is the Mirror Dimension and in here, your power doesn't matter."

[*A/N - If you're lost about the Mirror Dimension, refer to Steven Universe: Shattered II Chapter 4]

Pink Diamond became puzzled then got startled as everything around them began to shift and reflect off each other like it were glass. Pearl awakened her Sharingan, using her forehead gemstone as a third eye, and dashed at Pink Diamond, sliding over the floor like water. Pink Diamond erected a force field before her as the Gem came at her, but Pearl cut through it with her spear and stabbed her in the chest!

"The Mirror Dimension." Pink Diamond said as blood came down from her lip. "Blue Diamond always babbled about it during her travels, but I paid no attention to her. I guess it's real after all." She cupped her hand around Pearl's head, smiling as Pearl remained silent. "I'm at least happy I got to see how much you'd grown since I took you – my work wasn't in vain after all."

Pearl paused for a moment then dislodged her spear from Pink Diamond, letting her fall to the floor, and she turned back to the living room. She frowned as she saw Garnet, Amethyst, Rose and her past self lying dead at the feet of young Pink Diamond whose hands were drenched in their blood. Pearl glanced back and saw Pink Diamond's body disintegrate behind her and she turned to young Pink Diamond.

"If only it were that easy." Pearl said, taking a fighting stance.

Smirking, Pink Diamond flew toward Pearl and clashed with her blade using her forearm, the collision sending ripples through the realm that caused the Temple to rip apart like paper! The two women exchanged rapid blows, Pearl trying to cut the Diamond down with her weapon and Pink Diamond deflecting her strikes telepathically, and Pink Diamond got the upper hand, firing a psionic wave at Pearl's leg and ripping it in half!

Pearl looked down as her leg split in two and before she could react, Pink Diamond backhanded her, sending her flying back and smashing into a wall nearby! Pink Diamond ran toward her when the floor beneath her suddenly began to rumble and break apart, revealing a giant stone hand that grabbed her and punched her out through the Temple walls and into the ocean outside! Pink Diamond steadied herself underwater and looked up to see the Temple's statue alive and coming down to attack her!

Reacting quickly, she thrust her hand forth and created giant swirls of energy around the statue, disintegrating it and revealing Pearl who burst from its insides and dove down at her. Pearl drove her sword toward Pink Diamond and the blade suddenly broke apart on contact! She stopped in place, bewildered by what had happened, and was caught off guard as the water around her shifted and transformed into tubes that stabbed her in the back and pulled her further into the ocean.

"Did you really think you could defeat me so easily just because we're in another dimension?" Pink Diamond said, swooping down and grabbing Pearl by her neck. "I'm a master of the Psychic Arts and this is my domain!"

Pearl smiled.

* * *

AMETHYST LOOKED at Sapphire curiously, wondering why she stayed behind. "Sapphire, is something wrong?"

"Amethyst, Lion? How'd you find us?" Lapis asked.

"Well, we crashed outside the city and met Zenoth here who was planning to take out Yellow Diamond." Amethyst said.

"Wait, Yellow Diamond's here?"

"Our information said she'd be meeting with White Diamond here, though I'm sure she would be gone by now." Zenoth said.

"Well, we were just about to take down White Diamond, but she escaped right before you got here." Lapis said.

"Hold up, you actually fought a Diamond?" Beryl said in shock.

"Then we have to move quickly." Zenoth said. "Since we came across Gold Diamond a while ago, White Diamond will want to report this to Blue Diamond. If we get there in time before their soldiers are scrambled out, we might still have a chance to take the fight to them."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I was thinking of facing White Diamond if we teamed up with Sapphire and Lapis, but both her and Blue? There's no way we'd stand a chance!" Amethyst said.

"She's right." Beryl said. "And let's not forget that Gold Diamond took us out without breaking a sweat; we'd be committing suicide here."

"Do you have a better plan? If we wait any longer, the entire planetary guard will be on high alert and they'll pick us off one by one." Zenoth said.

"You're Zenoth, right?" Sapphire finally spoke.

"Yes." Zenoth turned to her. "Why do you ask?"

"Who are you exactly?"

Zenoth hesitated and Amethyst stepped forward. "He's a gem who helped reform the Famethyst – ooh! You've gotta see them; the guys are all back together again!"

Sapphire frowned as she stared at Zenoth, not listening to Amethyst. "You're hiding your energy so nobody else can sense it – it's even better than the way I did it before."

"What're you talking about, Sapphire?" Lapis asked, noticing Zenoth becoming uneasy.

"I sensed it the moment I saw him, but I needed to make sure." Sapphire said. "He's Yellow Diamond's son."

* * *

PINK DIAMOND crushed Pearl's neck while underwater in the Mirror Dimension, waiting to see the Gem's final breaths when she felt sudden force knock her forward and onto the ground! Pink Diamond blinked as she felt the water around her suddenly vanish, looking on the sand below and squinting as she felt blood drip from her lip. She remained puzzled for a moment, wondering what was going on, and she realized her skin was no longer pure pink and that she had shrunk into a human teenager!

She pushed herself up, dumbfounded, and was met with a swift kick to the back, quickly turning around to see that she was in the middle of an alley in the Hidden Leaf Village with three boys standing over her. "Look at this dumb bitch, her fucking face pisses me off." One of the boys said.

"Guys, I think we should go – we don't wanna get caught here." The shortest boy said.

"No, we have to teach this whore Harumi a lesson." The tallest boy said, grabbing young Harumi by her hair. "Weaklings like you can never be ninja, and should learn to fall in line."

The boy smacked Harumi across the face, dropping her back to the floor and she grunted as she met concrete, looking all over to see books she'd dropped before her. She blinked and tried to piece together what was happening, looking around to see that she had ended up in the Academy grounds. She got to her feet and clasped her head, a sharp pain abruptly overcome her, and she turned to see fellow students walk past her and make passing comments.

Harumi tried to get her bearings and walked onward, having a feeling that she was supposed to be doing something else at that moment, when an explosion rattled her out of her thoughts! She turned to her right and found herself in her lab hidden in the woods, seeing pieces of paper and shattered bottles on the floor as a fire started spreading throughout the room. She quickly moved to clear up the mess when she came across a large brown book that caught her eye, getting lost in it as she flipped through.

She read the book eagerly, inside finding notes about chakra's flow through the human body and its applications, and she paced around. She continued to read when she heard voices faintly coming from the hallway outside, squinting as she tried to listen.

"What were you thinking adding a mortal to our ranks?" One female voice said.

"It degrades our status among the gods and you know it! Our name will no longer be respected in the cosmos." Another voice came.

"She may be weaker than us, but she has potential. Once we use her scientific mind to complete our plans, I'll toss her aside." Blue Diamond said then chuckled. "A Terran thinking she can become a goddess."

Pink Diamond stood in place, finally remembering what was happening, and she dropped her book, looking down at the floor. Pearl materialized from the darkness behind her and slowly inched her way in, drawing her sword and moving in for the kill. "Alright, Pearl, just like we planned." She said to herself when she heard Pink Diamond whimpering, realizing that she was crying.

Pink Diamond turned around, wiping tears from her face, and she jerked back as she saw Pearl. "Oh, Pearl, I didn't notice you there." She quickly picked up the book she was reading and put it on a table behind Pearl. "Have you seen Rose anywhere? I've been looking for her."

Pearl watched Pink Diamond in surprise and looked at her own hands, seeing that she had turned back to the old form she had when she was a slave on Home World. Putting her book aside, Pink Diamond moved up to Pearl and held took hold of the collar she had on, rubbing against the fabric. "At least I still have you." Pink Diamond said.

Pearl tried to speak and Pink Diamond pushed her onto a nearby bed before she could, beginning to take off her robes. "At least I know you still love me, my little pearl." She smiled as she tore off the last of her clothes, standing naked before the Gem.

"No, I –," Pearl tried to speak, but her mouth grew shut!

"You too, huh? You want to turn your back on me?!" Pink Diamond yelled, her voice becoming more hoarse.

Pearl began to panic as she felt Pink Diamond's aura rise and her energy spread throughout the room, desperately trying to get away from her. She tried to stand, but slipped as the bed sheets moved and wrapped around her legs, pulling her toward Pink Diamond! Pearl struggled against their hold, her hands getting bound as well, and she tried to activate her Sharingan, but her gemstone cracked instead!

Pink Diamond began to expand and become larger and larger the more she drew Pearl toward her, her body transforming as a pink dress formed over her and she grew two extra arms and eyes! Pearl tugged at the sheets as she fought to break free, feeling her strength wane, and she felt a sharp pain as she felt something move inside her from her legs. Her skin bulged as the movements continued underneath her skin, bursting out as the cloth made its way through her and tore its way out of her neck, holding her down further!

"They all think I'm worthless, they all think nothing of me!" Pink Diamond screamed then looked down at Pearl. "Everyone, but you!" She bent down toward her. "When my Black Towers are complete, I will sap every world until all their power is mine! And when I have your eyes, I'll have their minds as well!" She held Pearl's chin. "And when that day comes, you and I will rule over everything!"

* * *

IN REGION Pink's inner city, Connie swung her sword at Pink Diamond who blocked the blade with her forearm and smacked her aside. Flipping through the air, Connie landed several feet away from the Diamond and channeled Gaia Energy through the sword, sending it at the Diamond in an arc shaped wave that collided with her and exploded! She watched as the dust from the explosion slowly settled and saw Pink Diamond unscathed, quickly taking up a stance when she realized she wasn't moving.

Puzzled, Connie moved up to Pink Diamond and saw that she simply stood there, her eyes having become empty and white. "What the …?"

"Connie …" A faint voice called.

The raven-haired girl turned to see Pearl's clone lying on the ground and weakly reaching out to her. "Pearl?" She moved up to the doppelganger.

"She's dying." The clone said, pointing to Pearl who lay a few feet away from her. "You need to help her."

"What do you mean? What's happening?" Connie asked.

"She tried to break Pink Diamond's mind in the psychic realm to kill her, but she's too strong." The clone said, beginning to disintegrate into dust.

"What do I do? I checked on her and she's not injured and she won't wake up." Connie explained.

"Heal her."

Connie watched as the clone broke down completely and quickly rushed to Pearl's side, seeing a pool of blood collecting around her head and her forehead gemstone falling apart! She tried to compose herself and channeled more of her energy over the Gem, trying to emulate Steven and create a healing sphere over her, but nothing happened. She tried and tried again, only managing to spread particles of energy over her with no effect.

Connie tried to think and began to panic as she heard Pink Diamond starting to stir, looking back at Pearl as the Gem moaned in pain while unconscious. She searched her mind and remembered Mira's words from Oval Town* on earth, looking back at the townspeople who had miraculously not noticed what had been going on this whole time. Sighing, she laid her hands on the ground before her, shut her eyes and breathed slowly, feeling the air around her and digging her fingers into the soil.

[A/N – if you're lost here, refer to Steven Universe – Shattered II – Gaia Chapter 3]

Home World around her became clearer as she waded her way through its energies, feeling a dark cloud of immense pain, sorrow and anguish that filled all corners of the planet almost unendingly. She grit her teeth, quickly being overwhelmed by it all, but slowly gave in to it, becoming one with it all. She breathed slowly and turned to Pearl as she summoned purple tubes of Gaia Energy from the ground, wrapping them around Pearl.

"Come on, Pearl." She said under her breath.

* * *

IN THE Mirror Dimension, Pearl lay limp on the bed before Pink Diamond who shrank down to her level, eyeing the Gem maliciously as the bed sheets dragged her into them and began to swallow her whole. She moved in for a closer look when Pearl leapt forth, ripping herself free of her binds, and lunged at her! Pink Diamond reacted quickly, expecting an attack when the Gem held her and embraced her!

Pink Diamond stopped in her tracks and looked down to Pearl as she hugged her, confusion welling in her. She moved to hold her as well when she felt a sword pierce through her, looking down to see that Pearl had summoned her sword and awoken her Sharingan!

Harumi sighed and fell back to the floor, dislodging herself from the blade and looked around as the room slowly faded away, leaving only her and Sumiko in an empty void. She stared down at her stomach as blood flooded down her dress and she turned to Sumiko who collapsed on her knees in exhaustion, giving a weak smile to her.

"What are you happy about?" Sumiko panted.

"… I don't know." Harumi sighed. "Maybe I just realize that it's all over now."

"Yeah." Sumiko sat down, putting her sword aside. "I guess it is."

Harumi remained silent for a while and leaned back, turning to Sumiko. "Did you ever love either us? Rose and I?"

Pearl paused for a moment. "No." She turned to Pink Diamond. "I thought I did, but … I didn't know what love actually felt like; I just became what you two wanted me to be." She slowly got to her feet. "I don't need you anymore."

Pink Diamond smiled and looked into Pearl's eyes on last time, falling limp before her. Pearl watched this without batting an eye and walked away without looking back.


	18. Home World, Ch9 - Dragonbloom

**DRAGONBLOOM**

THREE GIRLS laughed at a young Rose Quartz outside the mess hall of Region Yellow's training grounds 4500 years ago. The pink-skinned girl with a number tattooed on her neck like the others knelt on the ground desperately trying to pick up torn pieces of paper before her, trying and failing to hold back her tears.

"Why do you keep your head in books all day, huh? This's a military camp, not a library." A blue gem among the three said.

"I bet she thinks she's smarter than the rest of us." A big-bodied gem said.

"Yeah, she probably tells herself that since she's such a pathetic fighter."

Rose reached for a paper on the ground and the blue gem fired an energy blast at it before she could get to it, laughing at her as Rose started crying even more. The three girls continued to mock Rose as she scrambled to stop the fire that started when an orange blur swooped into the area and knocked the blue gem down with a powerful force that sent her flying through a wall!

Rising to her feet, a tall orange gem looked at the two girls that harassed Rose and turned to the blue girl sticking out of the wall across from her, enjoying her own handiwork.

"Oh, shit, it's 717." The big-bodied gem said in surprise as she saw Jasper's number, frightened as Jasper turned to Rose.

"I can't leave you alone for a second, now can I?" Jasper said to Rose.

"Look, 717, we were just playing around - we didn't hurt her, we swear!" The big gem said in a panic.

"You were playing, huh?" Jasper clenched her fist, turning to the remaining two gems with a vicious grin. "Mind if I join in then?"

"You bitch!" The blue gem growled as she pulled herself out of the wall. "Who do you think you are!?" She yelled out in rage and blasted a barrage of energy balls at Jasper from her palm.

"I'm the daughter of a White Commander, and you are an insect." Jasper replied blankly.

Moving nonchalantly, Jasper held out her hand as the blasts came her way, huffing then completely absorbing them into her palm! The blue gem recoiled in shock and in a swift motion, Jasper clenched her fist and flicked a finger at her, firing the energy back at her in a volley ten times larger than before!

The blue girl panicked and tried to get out of the way, but was swallowed by the wave of plasma that engulfed her and destroyed the entire mess hall along with her! Jasper watched as the building went up in flames and the other girls ran off in terror, leaving Rose behind.

"Huh, guess I over did it." Jasper blinked and looked at her hand, failing to notice a Commander rush into the area and witness the fire in horror.

"Wha-what the hell is this?!" He exclaimed.

"Ah, shit." Jasper huffed.

* * *

A YELLOW skinned gem, 517, with long flowing pink hair paced around the foyer of her home in Region Yellow's suburbs outside the inner city. She muttered to herself as she tried to piece things together then jolted up as she saw a tall red gem come through the door.

"700, I heard what happened -are Rose and Jasper alright?" 517 walked up to her husband.

"They're more than alright! Jasper got into a fight; blew up the whole mess hall!" 700 replied excitedly.

"Jasper!" 517 scolded. "Rose was being picked on again, what was I supposed to do?" Jasper replied with a shrug.

"It's good that you're looking out for your little sister, but you shouldn't be fighting all the time." 517 moved up to Rose and checked on her. "Are you okay, honey?" Rose smiled to her. "I'm fine, mom; they just messed up my books, that's all."

"Well, I'm proud of you, kid; you're finally growing up." 700 said to Jasper and patted her head. "The key to using your power is harnessing your rage - on Home World, mercy will get you killed." 517 frowned upon hearing him, but he didn't notice. Rising to his feet however, he turned to Rose with a frown. "But, you on the other hand are embarrassing yourself; you're a Quartz, not a worthless pearl – you shouldn't be pushed around like that."

Rose looked away in discomfort and 700 huffed and headed out of the room. "I'll give you special training later this week; you're gonna learn what it means to be a warrior."

517 watched as 700 and Jasper left the room then turned to Rose. "Don't listen to your father, Rose, alright? You should stay as kind as you've always been; don't let Home World's hatred rub off on you." Rose nodded to her.

* * *

JASPER AND ROSE continued their military training under their Commanders in Region Yellow's training camp over the next few years. The two gained a reputation for themselves as they hit their teens, Jasper the feared hothead with great untapped power and Rose the flowering mage with an aptitude for magic. Despite her difficult start at the training camp, Rose's unique skills and unwavering kindness finally gained her favor among her fellow cadets.

One day while they were home on break, a ring came on their front door and 700 opened to find two of Rose and Jasper's Commanders there. "Greetings, Commander 700, are 717 and 726 here?" One of the Commanders asked.

"Yes." 700 said, becoming a little concerned. "What is this about?"

"Yellow Diamond has requested that the two be taken to Region White for experimentation." The Commander said.

"What? Are they being shattered? I thought they were some of your top cadets." 700 said in a panic.

"They are actually our top two and they're the strongest we've had in over a century, so our Lord Diamond would like to figure out why that is the case." The second Commander explained. "You should be honored; if they are shattered or have their gems repurposed, it may be done by Yellow Diamond herself."

"I should be honored?" 700 grew angry.

"Our lives are in service to the Diamonds." The first Commander replied coldly. "To die by their hand is the most honorable gesture they can grace upon us." He looked at 700 curiously. "Are you going to stand in our way?"

700 held his tongue, feeling his blood boil, and Rose came into the foyer behind him. "Oh, Commander, what brings you here?" She asked one of the Commanders and quickly sensed the tension in the air.

One of the Commanders walked up to Rose when suddenly, 700 blasted both of them with a psionic wave from his hand, knocking them out into the driveway. "Dad, what're you doing?!" Rose yelled.

"Tell Yellow Diamond that my daughters aren't going anywhere." 700 frowned.

"You're making a grave mistake here, Commander." One of the Commanders said. "Yellow Diamond will hear of this."

"I know what I'm doing, now leave." 700 frowned.

"Wait, wait, it was just an accident; there's no need to involve her." Rose tried to plead, but the Commanders began to leave, sending murderous glares their way.

Jasper walked into the foyer, having heard the blast, and saw the Commanders walking away. "What's going on here?" She asked.

"He-he just attacked our Commanders." Rose explained shakily. "They're gonna report this to Yellow Diamond."

"What!?"

"I had no choice." 700 turned to Jasper. "Yellow Diamond wants to have you and Rose experimented upon and they said you may get shattered."

"But, why?" Jasper explained.

"Because you two are the best cadets they've had in a long while and they wanted to figure out why." 700 said. "Look, I'll take care of this; you're just gonna have to stay home for a while."

"Dad, if they report your insubordination, we'll all get shattered." Jasper said.

"I said, I'll handle this." 700 reiterated. "My family comes before my loyalty to the Diamonds; I won't let anything happen to either of you." He walked off and Rose and Jasper looked at each other, fearful of what may happen.

* * *

ROSE'S HEART pounded in her ears as her squad's commander walked toward her and moved past her fellow cadets in one of the training camp's main assembly halls a few months later. Everything had progressed like normal when their break was over, much to Rose and Jasper's surprise, and there was no mention of the incident involving their father and the gem gandlers.

Rose glanced at the Commander as he approached and tensed up, failing to breathe as he drew out a small pin from a box he held in his hand. "And finally, our two star pupils, 717 and 726." The gandler said with a smile. "Not only have you two excelled far beyond the rest of your squad, you have personally been chosen as lieutenants under Pink Diamond herself!"

The Quartzes erupted in applause upon hearing this, watching eagerly as the Commander placed pins on Rose and Jasper's right shoulders. "Pink Diamond?" Jasper said in confusion. "I thought we were training to join Yellow Diamond's forces."

"You were, but Pink Diamond has taken interest in you two, so Yellow Diamond made an exception." The Commander replied though Jasper remained suspicious.

* * *

ROSE AND Jasper returned home after the brief graduation ceremony at the training camp to collect their things as they were expected in Region Pink in a few weeks. As they entered their home however, they were met with surprise as they found 517 in tears in the main living area. "Mom, what's going on?" Jasper asked.

"I …" 517 wiped a tear. "I just got a message from Region White … your father's dead."

"No … no, it can't be." Rose shook her head in disbelief.

"I just read the report: he died while patrolling a nearby Home World colony that was under attack." 517 explained and Rose broke down beside her.

Jasper frowned and tried to take it all in, moving up to 517 and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, mom. At least he died with honor."

"It's all bullshit." 517 said, drying her tears. "It's all bullshit, they're lying."

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked.

"Your father disobeyed a direct order from a Diamond and then he just suddenly dies on the field?" 517 turned to Jasper. "Doesn't that sound suspect to you?"

"These things happen; I've lost friends while at the training camp, it's not out of the ordinary." Jasper said.

"How can you be so cold? This is your father we're talking about!"

"Being emotional won't bring him back, mom, he's gone." Jasper said then walked off. "Rose and I just came back to get our things – we're being sent to Region Pink in a few weeks." 517 remained behind and watched her leave in shock.

* * *

ROSE LOOKED around as she stepped out of an airship and into the inner city of Region Pink alongside Jasper, taking in the dilapidated scenery and becoming slightly puzzled at it. Jasper noticed it as well and was about to make a comment when a pale-skinned pearl came up to them and curtsied. "Welcome to Region Pink, Lieutenant 717 and 726, Pink Diamond awaits you in her laboratory." Pearl gestured to the Black Tower nearby.

"There's no need to grovel; I'm an ordinary gem just like you." Rose said.

"No, you're not; she's worthless trash." Jasper scoffed and walked toward the Black Tower. Rose frowned at this and followed her reluctantly, glancing back and noticing Pearl eyeing her from behind though she paid no mind.

Entering the building, the two were met with an intense feeling of hate and malice emanating from the black walls around them unlike anything they'd felt before. Rose heard many whispers from all around her and quickly became uncomfortable, but Jasper simply ignored it, walking further ahead of the two. As they made their way down the halls however, Pearl struggled to keep her cool as she walked beside Rose; the tall beautiful woman's presence and magical aura overwhelming her.

Making a turn to her right, Jasper came up to a chrome door and felt a powerful energy coming from the other side, immediately recognizing it as Pink Diamond's. Pearl tore herself away from staring at Rose to see Jasper enter the lab, wincing in fear as she failed to perform her duties and remaining behind as Rose went past.

Rose's eyes lit up upon entering the room after Jasper and looked around, seeing several magic symbols etched in the walls and leading to several machines that lined the circumference of the round laboratory. She was enamored by the intricacy of the ritual signs and smiled as she saw Pink Diamond inspecting a containment chamber nearby.

"Ah, you're here faster than I expected." Pink Diamond said without looking at them. "I thought I sent my Pearl to get you; where is it?"

"It?" Rose was confused. "Well, **_she's_** –,"

"My sincerest apologies, Pink Diamond!" Pearl quickly knelt before Pink Diamond. "I went to welcome them as you instructed, but I –,"

"You worthless trash!" Pink Diamond backhanded Pearl, knocking her hard on the floor. "No one is to enter my lab without my permission and you are to make sure of that."

"Forgive me, my Lord, I won't let it happen again." Pearl said, healing a large cut Pink Diamond dealt on her cheek.

Rose gritted her teeth, trying not to act out of line and Pink Diamond turned to her and Jasper. "So, you're 717 and 726, correct?"

"Yes, and we're here to serve you diligently, Lord Diamond." Jasper stepped forward and stood at attention, stunning Rose with her disregard for what happened.

"Very nice." Pink Diamond ogled Jasper and moved up to her. "I'll be sure to make good use of you." She held the shorter woman's face and smelled her hair.

"So." Jasper tried to ignore what happened. "Wh-what orders do you have for us?"

"Orders? Relax, you just got here." Pink Diamond chuckled. "White Diamond killed your father to make an example of him, but you don't need to fear me; I won't lay a finger on you two."

"White Diamond did what?!" Jasper demanded.

"You didn't know? Well, White Diamond sent 700 on a solo mission to take down a Saiyan warship that was invading one of our nearby colonies fully knowing he'd be overwhelmed to make an example of him to the rest of his squad." Pink Diamond explained.

"Mom was right …" Rose realized.

"He deserved it for his insubordination and you two should learn from it." Pink Diamond said and returned to her work desk. "Pearl, give them the coordinates to the barracks so they can get settled."

"Yes, Lord Diamond." Pearl bowed and headed for the door, moving past Jasper who clenched her fists till her knuckles went white and glared at Pink Diamond, slowly releasing her energy aura.

* * *

JASPER YELLED angrily and smashed her fist through the wall of her and Rose's sleeping quarters, frightening her younger sister who quickly rushed to her side. "Jasper, be quiet; we don't want to draw any attention to ourselves." Rose pulled her hand out of the wall.

"You heard what Pink Diamond said; that bitch killed our father!" Jasper growled.

"Oh, so now you care? I thought you said these things happen." Rose said.

"I'd accept it if he died fighting for Home World, not if he was sent to die like a dog!" Jasper said. "We surpass their expectations in training and they want our gemstones repurposed, and now this?" She paced around then looked to Rose who remained silent. "How are you not enraged by this?"

"What are we supposed to do? They're gods, they do what they want."

"Well, not anymore." Jasper said.

"What're you talking about?" Rose became curious.

"We should make them suffer for their betrayal, the whole lot of them." Jasper explained. "We'll show them that they can't treat us like the rest of the trash that roams this planet; we'll show them what Quartzes are truly made of."

Rose hesitated then smiled. "You're right, let's do it – let's overthrow the Diamonds."

"Exactly." Jasper grinned then headed for the door. "Follow me."

"Whoa, what're you doing?" Rose stopped her.

"I'm going to find Pink Diamond and kill her first then we'll travel to Region White and take out White Diamond." Jasper said.

"We can't just attack them like that; we'll get killed." Rose said.

"Then what'd you suggest?"

"We should be strategic about this and know what we're truly up against." Rose said. "If we can first assess how strong the Diamonds really are, then we can come up with a plan to take them down."

"And how do we do that?" Jasper folded her arms.

"I know a good number of Quartzes from Region Yellow who hate the Diamonds more than we do, so we can round them up and a few others and form a solid rebellion right under the Diamond's noses." Rose smiled and stood proudly. "We'll call ourselves the Crystal Gems!"

Jasper deadpanned. "That's the shittiest name I've ever heard in my life."

"Well, I just came up with it and I like it." Rose pouted and crossed her arms.

"Ugh, forget it." Jasper rolled her eyes and headed out of the room. "I'll let you round up your friends or whatever and I'll keep an eye on the Diamonds."

"Great, just try to keep your cool, alright? We don't want to expose ourselves just like that, alright?" Rose said and Jasper left the room.

* * *

ROSE AND Pearl's lips locked as they fondled each other on the pink gem's bed, feeling around each other's bodies and ruffling up the sheets beneath the pink woman. Rose grabbed the pale woman's ass firmly and Pearl acted in kind, reaching down between her thighs. The pink woman moaned into her mouth as she rubbed against her when the door behind them flew open as Jasper punched it down and she turned to the two and recoiled in disgust.

"What the hell is this?!"

"Jasper? What're you doing here? You said you were out on an errand." Rose said, pushing Pearl off her and onto the floor. "Oh, sorry, Pearl."

"That was an hour ago!" Jasper said then raised her brow. "Pearl? You learned its name?"

"Hey, she's my girlfriend, you need to respect her."

"No, she has to leave, **_now_**!" Jasper growled and Pearl quickly rushed out of the room. "What the fuck are you doing fraternizing with the slaves?"

"Ugh, you're just mad because I'm fucking another woman." Rose said as she put her clothes on.

"Yes, I am, but there's no point trying to dissuade you from your repulsive tastes."

"What're you gonna do, huh?" Rose shrugged.

"Why are you wasting time, Rose?" Jasper shut the door and spoke in a lower tone of voice. "I thought you said you were trying to find Quartzes who'd join our cause."

"I told you it'd take time, and besides, there're more gems than Quartzes that can help us."

"It's been years now and you've shown me **_none_** of your progress." Jasper said. "For all I know, you're probably just fucking Pearl and Pink Diamond this whole time."

"Wait, how'd you know we're in a three-way relationship?" Rose asked.

"Oh, fucking hell, what kind of degenerate am I related to?" Jasper paced around angrily.

"Look, Jasper, I'm sorry, but you'll need to be more patient, alright?" Rose got off the bed. "I've been travelling around Home World while looking for recruits and I've had my eyes opened to everyone's suffering; Home World needs our help."

"Who cares about those lowly flith – they don't matter!"

"Yes, they do!"

"And what does that have to do with dating Pink Diamond? You're siding with the enemy now?" Jasper asked.

"Pink Diamond isn't that bad once you get to know her." Rose said. "And besides, she has knowledge that I think could help us. If I can apply some of her findings of magic to my own, it could really help in liberating Home World."

Jasper looked at Rose in disbelief. "What's wrong with you? This is supposed to be about redeeming our family's honor."

"Well, there's things more important than our pride, Jasper." Rose said then frowned slightly. "I hoped you'd understand that."

Jasper tried to speak, but frowned and simply left in a huff. Rose sighed as she slammed the door behind her then gasped as she saw Pearl crawl out from beneath her bed. "Is she gone now?" Pearl said with a smile.

"You scared me." Rose said then smiled. "You made a clone; you're a fast learner."

"Well, I had a good teacher." Pearl giggled and went up to her, pushing her against the wall.

"Hey, we should make this quick; she may be back soon." Rose said, but Pearl ignored her and went on her knees, slowly pulling off her pants.


	19. Home World, Ch10 - Dragonbloom 2

AS THE years passed, tensions between Jasper and Rose grew as they stopped talking to each other and rarely saw one another while out on separate missions. Jasper was soon transferred to Region White and was promoted to the rank of Commander while Rose remained in Region Pink and became Pink Diamond's protégée, getting engrained more and more into the magical arts.

Their time apart was coming to a close however as insurrection began to brew in the neighboring regions of Pink and Yellow. Reports of riots and attacks on Home World military facilities became more frequent as the years went by and though they seemed to have no real connection, Jasper knew it was Rose who was behind it. Jasper was torn by this however, having built a life for herself as one of White Diamond's top commanders, and was unsure if she'd give it all away to rejoin her sister.

One day after briefing her fellow commanders over a recent attack in Region Pink, Jasper headed through the halls of White Diamond's palace and made her way to her ship to meet with Yellow Diamond over the matter. As she went on however, she received an alert on her gauntlet's communicator and before she could check on it, Helio Quartz came running down the hall. "Commander Jasper, Region Blue is under attack!"

"What? How'd this happen?" Jasper rushed up to him and the two ran alongside each other.

"Orbital scans detected several warships entering our atmosphere five minutes ago, completely going past all our defenses and headed straight for Region Blue." Helio said.

"Then we have no time to lose, come on!" Jasper ran on.

Helio smirked. "Hey, have you been working out?"

"You can stare at my ass later, Helio, let's get going!" Jasper said and went through a door to her right.

* * *

YOUNG SAPPHIRE stared at Ruby through the fireplace that separated them in the small cave in the outskirts of Region Blue's inner city. Ruby shuffled about, trying to gather some firewood in the corner of the cave and she noticed the blue girl staring at her, quickly becoming uncomfortable. "Y'know, you're kinda creeping me out here."

"I'm sorry." Sapphire chuckled uneasily. "I've never had friends before."

"Well, you and me both." Ruby smiled. "Tell ya what, I'll show you the ropes when it comes to interacting with people and you'll show me how you do this magicky stuff, alright?"

"Yeah, I'd like that." Sapphire smiled when a loud explosion erupted from outside, drawing her attention to the inner city that was going up in flames! "What the …?"

Chaos spread through the inner city streets as missiles rained upon buildings on the outer walls and gems ran about in a panic. A warship descended upon a building and opened its hanger doors to let out its occupants when a giant tube of water erupted from the ground beneath it and tore through it, ripping it to shreds! Commander Lapis landed on the ground nearby and studied the chaos around her, turning to her right where her Lieutenant Peridot appeared aboard a floating metal disc.

"Okay, Peridot, tell me what's going on here."

"I just visited the Security Outposts in this quadrant and they all claim to have detected several warships enter our atmosphere." Peridot explained.

"But, what kind of warships are these? There's no energy emanating from them and they're easy to destroy, but they went through the city barrier like nothing." Lapis turned back to the ship she skewered and frowned as it slowly disappeared. "That means …"

"Yup, they're fakes to distract us." Peridot looked to the sky and huffed as the barrier fizzled off above her. "And now they've shut off the barrier."

Lapis turned to her right and saw several armed Quartzes fly over the diminishing barrier and attack the royal guards below. "Guess I have to get to work them." She huffed and conjured water around her.

* * *

"REGION WHITE and Yellow are under attack as well, it's a full-scale invasion." Helio said on the other end.

"Alright, keep me posted and be sure to get in contact with Commander Lapis." Jasper replied.

"But, what about you? We need you here."

"I've got something I need to take care of; it shouldn't take long." Jasper said.

"Okay, just be careful." Helio said worriedly and cut the line.

Jasper pressed a button on her gauntlet and huffed as she walked out of her airship and looked at the dilapidated streets of Region Pink around her. She strolled across the dust road and took in the scenery, the memories of the place coming back to her from years ago. Stepping into an alley, she went up to a dumpster and looked at the ground, sensing the energy beneath, and firing an energy ball down and blowing a hole before her leading underground.

Jumping into the depths, she walked down a sewer and searched around for a bit, finding a hidden door by the wall and blasting through it as well, finding a large empty room dimly lit by a single light above. "So, I was right; you did have a tracker on me." Rose said as she stepped out of the shadows.

"I had to keep an eye on you somehow; you weren't speaking to me." Jasper said. "What're you doing, Rose?"

"What? It's just like we planned, remember? Take down the Diamonds; make them pay for what they did and whatnot."

"We were supposed to do this together."

"I figured you were no longer on board with the plan, so I had to carry it on myself, **_Commander_**." Rose said.

"This was supposed to be about Dad, not these worthless insects; we're nothing if our family name isn't feared." Jasper said.

"Boy, you sure are stuck in the past."

"So, what's your plan then? You're going to take out the Diamond's and rule Home World with Pearl?" Jasper asked.

Rose burst out in laughter. "Pearl?" She wiped a tear. "I'm surprised you remembered the name of my pet." She looked around. "Ah, no, no, I'm not going to stay on Home World with any of them."

"But, I thought you said you were dating her; or did I miss something."

Rose chuckled. "I grew tired of our play, both with her and Pink Diamond; I seek more than a dead end existence with either of them." She paced around. "I want to be a god."

Jasper blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"The time I've spent with Pink Diamond really opened my eyes to how powerless we all are; we can never defeat the Diamonds." Rose said. "You've felt it too, the overwhelming power that they hold back despite what we can feel on the surface." Jasper frowned and Rose saw this, knowing she understood what she said. "They are gods by all measure, mortals can't touch them even if they tried."

"So you want to become one of them?"

"Or to at least find something that can stop them, yes." Rose huffed. "I know this started because of what happened to dad and after mom … but, we need to move past that; there's things that are more important now."

Jasper paused for a moment. "How are you supposed to become a god exactly?"

"Pink Diamond once told me of a primordial energy found at the core of all planets that support life called Gaia Energy and that if you gain access to it, you can have a piece of the very energy of the cosmos!" Rose said. "The only races to ever access Gaia Energy are Terrans and Celestials and very few worlds have had their energy unearthed, so I'll go to a planet called earth to gain access to it for myself using Pink Diamond's research!"

"So, you were planning to do this without me then? This was our goal; we were supposed to overthrow the Diamonds together, not to bring along worthless trash!" Jasper growled.

"I can't let anything get in the way of my plans, not even you Jasper."

"And what were these attacks for then? You just wanted to cause chaos for the sake of it?" Jasper asked.

"I needed the Gems to believe in my cause, so we threw a few riots and saved a few gems to make them believe we could win together, but they don't stand a chance at all." Rose said and began walking away. "Right now, I just need some of the gems to create a diversion so I can get off this world undetected and I'll continue the ruse on earth with the few that remain. When I find the energy I need, I'll dispose of the Crystal Gems and take the Diamonds down myself."

Jasper watched as Rose left and clenched her fist. "You're not going anywhere!" She moved up to her. "Those gems you've aligned yourself with might be worthless trash, but they're still your allies. You never turn your back on a soldier."

"So, now you care about them? You've looked down on everyone from day one and the moment I do the same, I'm the one who's in the wrong? You need to make up your mind, Jasper." Rose chuckled. "If you want to fight for the worthless pride of a dead man or the lives of a few hopeless gems, be my guest. Although, you might need to defend yourself first."

"What're you talking about?"

"I suspected you'd get in my way, so I figured I'd leave some evidence suggesting your involvement in the insurrection for Pink Diamond to find."

"You did what!?" Jasper's energy aura began to rise.

"I'd say they'd be here in a few minutes." Rose snapped her fingers, letting down her illusion spell to reveal several maps and plans laid upon tables all around her that were in Jasper's writing along with other incriminating evidence. "You'd better get moving if you don't want them to find you."

Jasper screamed in rage and flew at Rose ready to attack when a magic symbol appeared on the ground below her and bound her to the floor with an invisible force. Rose shook her head and moved up to Jasper as she struggled against the pull of the spell. "You've always looked down on others and only show that you care when it makes you look better. You did it with Dad, you did it with Mom and you did it with me all these years thinking I wouldn't catch on." Rose held Jasper's chin. "You could have joined me, but you were too caught up in your mind to make the right choices. And now, you can truly choose what matters to you."

Jasper glared at Rose and threw a punch at her, but hit air as she vanished suddenly and she collapsed on the floor instead. Rising to her feet, she looked around and saw no sign of Rose anywhere, deciding to go out and search for her. Before she could take a step however, she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see some of Pink Diamond's soldiers armed with energy rifles entering the room.

"Jasper, so it really was you." One of the gem soldiers said.

"How could you do this? What were you thinking?" Another gem soldier said.

"Amber Topaz? Lily Carnelian? Wh-what're you doing here?" Jasper said, starting to breathe heavily.

"What're **_you_** doing here?" Amber Topaz said. "The last time I saw you was at the graduation ceremony and you never talked to me again."

"You really chose to give up your rank for this?" Lily Carnelian gestured at the tables behind Jasper. "A fruitless rebellion that's cost the lives of your own men?"

"No, this is a mistake; I didn't do this!" Jasper said.

"Look, Jasper, just come with us and you can explain this to the Diamonds, okay?" Amber Topaz said. "Pink ordered us to kill you on sight, but we can just take you there if you come with us peacefully. You'd be stripped of your rank and you'd be a regular soldier like the rest of us, but you'd still be alive."

"I can't believe this shit; I thought you were better than this." Lily Carnelian said. "Come on, we don't have all day."

Jasper looked at her old friends and the other soldiers among them and tried to think of what to do next. "Jasper, just come with us, please." Amber Topaz said. "Your pride can't be worth your life, can it?"

"… No, it isn't." Jasper said finally. "I'm sorry."

"Jasper, what're you –," Amber Topaz tried to say when Jasper shot her head clean off with an energy blast from her hand!

"Take her down!" Lily Carnelian cried and opened fire on Jasper along with the other soldiers.

Jasper took the assault like it was nothing and mowed through each other soldiers, breaking their bones like twigs and smashing their gemstones to pieces! Lily Carnelian was the last to remain and she fell back futilely blasting Jasper with her rifle desperately trying to keep her away. Jasper knocked her rifle aside and Lily pleaded helplessly. "Jasper, please!"

Without hesitating, Jasper punched through Lily Carnelian's chest and tore her fist out of her back, skewering her heart and her gemstone at the same time! Jasper panted as she felt the life fade from Lily Carnelian's body, setting her down and looking at her lifeless eyes one last time. Dislodging her arm from the corpse, she looked around at the battered and torn bodies that lay around her, finally realizing what she had done as she turned to her old friends lying dead beside her.

It all came crashing down at once and tears flowed freely from her eyes as she broke down and wept on her knees in the middle of the room. She let it all out as she knelt alone, but a sudden clapping caught her attention and she looked to see Pink Diamond materializing before her. "That was an excellent performance." Pink Diamond applauded.

"Pink Diamond?" Jasper backed up.

"Come now, after all this time and you're not comfortable around me." Pink Diamond said and saw the confused look in Jasper's eyes, pacing around the room. "When I first heard White Diamond's plan to off your father without you two knowing, I thought I'd use the opportunity to give you a little push into taking action. Knowing how rambunctious you Quartzes can be, I set off a spark of rebellion in you two and let Rose come across all that she needed to set her off on her journey." Jasper remained silent and Pink Diamond smiled, taking her leave. "Pick yourself up and get rid of the Crystal Gems' little rebellion outside; we still have use for you as a Commander."

"…Why would you do this? What if Rose succeeds?"

Pink Diamond paused for a moment. "If Rose gets the power she desires, she may do what I've dreamed of for a long time." She vanished, leaving Jasper behind.


End file.
